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Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Ex Vivo Intestinal Sacs to Assess Mucosal Permeability in Models of Gastrointestinal Disease
Published on: February 9, 2016
Sucrose permeability as a marker for NSAID-induced gastroduodenal injury
L Erlacher1, J Wyatt, S Pflugbeil
1Department of Internal Medicine III, University of Vienna, Austria.
Objective:
To evaluate sucrose permeability as a non-invasive test for the monitoring of upper gastrointestinal mucosal damage (uGMD) in patients treated with NSAIDs.
Methods:
40 patients with non-inflammatory joint pain were enrolled in a prospective study. Before and after 14 days of ibuprofen treatment (3 x 400 mg/day), the rates of urinary sucrose excretion after an oral sucrose load were assessed. Individuals with increased sucrose permeability underwent endoscopy.
Results:
8 patients (20%) showed abnormal sucrose permeability before taking any NSAID. In 5/20 patients (25%) who completed 2 weeks of ibuprofen medication, sucrose excretion increased above the normal level. Endoscopic examination and biopsy revealed mild uGMD, but no ulceration in 8/11 (72%) patients with increased permeability to this marker.
Conclusion:
Sucrose permeability testing is a sensitive procedure for research protocols on NSAID-induced gastropathy. Since this test also seems to detect slight and clinically insignificant mucosal damage, however, its use in clinical decision-making regarding gastroprotective medication is limited.
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