Dose response studies of gastric acid secretion in Nigerians using pentagastrin stimulation

To determine the does of pentagastrin required for maximal gastric acid secretion, 6, 8, and 10 micrograms/kg body weight of intramuscular pentagastrin were given to twenty Nigerian subjects (ten controls and ten duodenal ulcer patients). The different doses of pentagastrin were administered to each subject on different days. 8 micrograms/kg body weight of pentagastrin caused the highest gastric acid output in all the subjects followed by 6 and lastly 10 micrograms/kg body weight. Significant differences in the mean stimulated acid output by 6 and 8 micrograms/kg body weight to pentagastrin were found only in the duodenal ulcer patients (Maximal Acid Output (M.A.O.).