Insulin infusion test of gastric acid secretion

In view of the disadvantages of the standard insulin test for completeness of vagotomy a continuous insulin infusion test has been developed. Twenty-six tests were carried out on 12 healthy male volunteers. A dose of 0.04 unit of soluble insulin/kg/hr was found to produce the highest acid secretion with the least severity of symptoms of hypoglycaemia. The pattern of response was a plateau of acid secretion and of hypoglycaemia, and repeated studies in six subjects showed that the results were reproducible. Evaluation of this test after vagotomy and comparison with the standard insulin test are now required.