[Progress in diagnosis of gastric function: gastric secretory analysis, intragastric titration, endocrine provocation...

Diagnostic procedures for the measurement of gastric acid secretion and for the differention between several types of hypergastrinemia have been improved during the last years. An intravenous dose-response curve with increasing doses of pentagastrin resulted in 30% higher MAO compared to subcutaneously administered pentagastrin (6 microgram/kg body weight). Food-stimulated gastric acid secretions can be measured by intragastric titration; this method is used mainly in clinical-physiological studies. The different forms of hypergastrinemia may be differentiated by 3 provocation tests: calciuminfusion, secretintest, glucagontest. In atypical cases of Zollinger-Ellison-Syndrome it may be necessary to perform all 3 tests.