[Torsades de pointes during sultopride poisoning].

A case of sultopride poisoning (ingested dose 16 g) in a 35-year-old, 65 Kg man is described. On admission myoclonus, mydriasis, vomiting and cardio-respiratory arrest were observed. Torsades de pointes were treated with potassium chloride infusion and pace maker stimulation.

Gastric emptying and gastrointestinal absorption of alcohol ingested with a meal.

We have measured, by an intubation method, gastric evacuation and gastrointestinal absorption of alcohol ingested with a meal in seven healthy nonalcoholic subjects. A homogenized meal containing [14C]PEG and ethanol (1 g/kg body wt) was given intragastrically while saline containing [57CO]vitamin B12 was perfused into the duodenum. Of the ingested alcohol, 39.

[Serum pepsinogen: its value as index of basal and stimulated gastric acid secretion (author's transl)].

Group I pepsinogen serum levels (PG I) and gastric acid outputs were determined before ("basal") and after pentagastrin or insulin stimulation in 13 patients with active duodenal ulcer and in 4 patients with hyperselective vagotomy. There was a statistically significant correlation between basal PG I serum level and basal acid output (r = 0,88, p less than 0,01) and between PG I serum level 45 min after stimulation and peak acid output (r = 0,68, p less than 0,01). However, the scattering of individual values was such that serum PG I cannot be used as an index of gastric acid secretion in clinical practice.

Intestinal clearance of alpha 1-antitrypsin. A sensitive method for the detection of protein-losing enteropathy.

Gastrointestinal loss of plasma is usually measured with radiolabeled macromolecules. These methods are expensive and cumbersome. The use of alpha 1-antitrypsin as an endogenous marker and the determination of alpha 1-antitrypsin fecal clearance enable the diagnosis of protein-losing enteropathy.