Sensitivity and specificity of an abbreviated (13)C-mixed triglyceride breath test for measurement of pancreatic exocrine function.

Background: A modified (13)C-mixed triglyceride breath test ((13)C -MTGT) detects moderate pancreatic exocrine insufficiency noninvasively and reliably, but it requires prolonged breath sampling (6 hours (hr)).

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether (13)C -MTGT can be abbreviated, to optimize clinical usability.

Methods: We analyzed the (13)C-MTGT of 200 consecutive patients, retrospectively.