Human gastrin response to secretin after vagotomy

The gastrin response to a liquid meal with and without secretin infusion was studied in nine patients undergoing selective or truncal vagotomy with pyloroplasty for duodenal ulcer disease. Fasting gastrin levels were significantly increased in eight of nine patients after vagotomy, but secretin infusion did not consistently suppress these basal gastrin levels either pre- or postoperatively. Infusion of secretin did significantly lower the integrated gastrin response to feeding both pre- and postoperatively in eight of nine patients. Vagotomy alone did not significantly alter the integrated gastrin response to feeding. This data gives evidence that secretin infusion remains a helpful diagnostic test, differentiating those patients with recurrent ulcer and elevated gastrin levels postvagotomy from those patients with occult Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.