Serum immunoreactive trypsin in cystic fibrosis

Serum immunoreactive trypsin (IRT) concentrations were measured blind in sera from 33 patients with cystic fibrosis and in 32 age-matched controls. Thirty-two patients had abnormal trypsin concentrations. In 30 of these patients the level of IRT was very low whereas in the other two (the youngest of the group) it was extremely high. All 30 patients with low IRT concentrations had clinical or biochemical evidence of malabsorption. Serum IRT concentration may thus be a useful diagnostic test for cystic fibrosis. In view of the recent observation that neonates with cystic fibrosis consistently have raised IRT concentrations, and the fact that the youngest two patients in our series also had markedly increased IRT, it would appear that the initial elevation of IRT reflects early damage to the pancreas with release of enzyme/zymogen; this is thereafter superseded by a progressive destruction of the pancreas resulting in low IRT concentrations in adults with cystic fibrosis.