Exocrine pancreatic function in asymptomatic chronic alcoholics without structural pancreatic disease

In order to elucidate the functional states of the pancreas in the asymptomatic latent stage of chronic alcoholic pancreatitis, 45 chronic alcoholics with no obvious pancreatic structural abnormalities judged by endoscopic pancreatography were studied by pancreozymin-secretin test. We found three patterns of exocrine pancreatic function in alcoholics with or without cirrhosis: normal secretion (40%), hyposecretion (29%) and hypersecretion (31%). In the hyposecretory group, the amylase output proved to be impaired more frequently. In the hypersecretory group increases were observed in one or more of the following parameters, volume, bicarbonate output and amylase output. However, increase in volume was a fundamental condition in this hypersecretion. This study confirmed that exocrine pancreatic hyposecretion and hypersecretion were almost equally frequent in asymptomatic chronic alcoholics with no obvious pancreatographic abnormalities. These results suggest that ongoing exocrine pancreatic dysfunctions exist in the subclinical stage of chronic alcoholic pancreatitis.