Theme |
New Criteria of Chronic Pancreatitis |
Title |
Evaluating Exocrine Function Tests for Diagnosing Chronic Pancreatitis |
Author |
Motoji Kitagawa |
Department of Internal Medicine II, Nagoya University School of Medicine |
Author |
Tetsuo Hayakawa |
Department of Internal Medicine II, Nagoya University School of Medicine |
[ Summary ] |
In diagnosing chronic pancreatitis, the secretin test is considered the gold standard for estimating exocrine pancreatic secretion, although duodenal intubation is unpleasant for patients and rather complicated for examiners. The BT-PABA and fecal chymotrypsin tests are simple tubeless tests for evaluating exocrine function, but these are less sensitive and specific than the secretin test for diagnosing chronic pancreatitis. A combination of the BT-PABA and fecal chymotrypsin tests with serum pancreatic amylase measurement improved the specificity for diagnosing chronic pancreatitis. |