[Exocrine function of the pancreas in patients with chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis of various etiologies].

Exocrinous performance of the pancreatic gland under secretin-pancreozymin stimulation was studied in 76 patients with chronic diffuse diseases of the liver who were distinguished into 6 groups: those who suffered from chronic persistent hepatitis of viral and alcohol origin, chronic active hepatitis of viral origin, cirrhosis of the liver of viral and alcohol origin, primary biliary hepatocirrhosis. The results obtained were correlated with those from 11 normal persons (controls). Out of 76 examinees the disorders of exocrinous performance of the pancreatic gland were revealed in 75 persons. The most characteristic features were: a decrease in the basal and an increase in the stimulated volume of the pancreatic juice; a reduction of both basal and stimulated production of bicarbonates; a decrease in the trypsin and amylase fasting levels and their increment in the stimulated juice of the pancreatic gland. Disorder in the production of bicarbonates was stated as a most characteristic feature in the patients both with viral and alcohol origin of the disease but it was mostly manifest in the patients with hepatocirrhosis. Pronounced elevation of the activity of amylase and trypsin in the pancreatic juice was observed in patients with very high activity of disease development and in the patients who continuously used large amounts of alcohol. The authors suspected that alcohol abuse and the effect of hepatitis virus had an equal pathogenic impact on the liver and pancreatic gland.