Assessment of vagotomy status with postprandial urinary alkaline tide.

Aim: This study was carried out to assess whether the postprandial urinary alkaline tide, as a marker for the completeness of vagotomy, is dependent on the nature of the test meal, whether it is affected by proton pump inhibitor therapy, and whether it is reliable. Methods: The postprandial urinary alkaline tide (PUAT) pattern was prospectively assessed in three different study groups and one control group of healthy volunteers. The three study groups were as follows; A (n = 20) i.e. the Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) Group; B (n = 25) i.e. the Truncal Vagotomy (TV) Group; and C (n = 5) i.e. the Recurrent Ulcer (RU) Group. Urinary pH was measured by a pocket digital pH meter. Results: Postprandial urinary alkaline tide in the control group was significantly higher compared to the fasting levels. Liquid diet did not elicit a significant urinary alkaline tide response. There was a statistically significant fall in both fasting urinary pH (5.34 ± 0.70 vs. 4.80 ± 0.61, p = 0.031) and the postprandial alkaline tide (6.99 ± 0.79 vs. 4.94 ± 0.63, p = 0.0001) after taking proton pump inhibitors. In the truncal vagotomy and gastrojejunostomy group it was found that there was a significant fall in both the mean fasting (5.28 ± 0.58, vs. 4.92 ± 0.66, p = 0.032) and the postprandial urinary pH (6.29 ± 0.92 vs. 5.09 ± 0.73, p = 0.0001) following surgery. Conclusion: This study establishes that simple measurement of the urinary pH before and after a standard test meal can be used as an accurate routine test for the completion of vagotomy. It also showed that proton pump inhibitors abolish the alkaline tide and therefore must be discontinued before measuring the alkaline tide. Liquid test meal was not effective in eliciting an alkaline tide as compared to a solid meal.

Serum pepsinogen I and II levels in various gastric disorders with special reference to their use as a screening test for carcinoma stomach.

INTRODUCTION: The role of serum pepsinogen in the diagnosis of gastric carcinoma is well established. Its role in other common upper alimentary disorders has not been widely studied. The aim of this study was to describe the effect of various gastric disorders on the levels of pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II and pepsinogen I/II ratio, with an emphasis on the diagnosis of carcinoma stomach in the South Indian population. METHODS: A total of 210 patients in seven groups, including one control group, were studied. The groups included patients with carcinoma stomach, Helicobacter pylori gastritis, peptic ulcer, portal hypertensive gastropathy, non-ulcer dyspepsia and erosive gastritis. Serum pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II and pepsinogen I/II ratio were estimated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. RESULTS: Patients with carcinoma of the stomach, when compared with controls, had a significantly lower pepsinogen I level (87.2 microg/L vs. 158.1 microg/L, p=0.0002) and pepsinogen I/II ratio (4.3 vs. 7.2, p = 0.0001). No significant change in pepsinogen levels occurred in the other groups. The cut-off levels of pepsinogen I (115.3 microg/L) and pepsinogen I/II ratio (6.2), determined by THE ROC curve, when applied in parallel provided a sensitivity of 97% and a negative predictive value of 91.4% for the diagnosis of carcinoma stomach. When the tests were applied in parallel, the likelihood ratio of a negative test was 0.06, indicating that individuals without carcinoma stomach were 16 times more likely to have a negative test than those with carcinoma. This fulfilled the essential prerequisites of an ideal screening test. CONCLUSION: Serum pepsinogen estimation is a useful diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of carcinoma stomach. The significance of serum pepsinogen level in portal hypertensive gastropathy, non-ulcer dyspepsia, peptic ulcer, Helicobacter pylori gastritis and erosive gastritis was not established.

A study on trend of relapse in leprosy and factors influencing relapse.

A retrospective analysis of data pertaining to the rural field operation area of the Central Leprosy Teaching and Research Institute, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, was carried out to determine the magnitude of relapse after MDT and its significance with other variables. The study included 3248 leprosy patients who have successfully completed treatment during 1987-2003, of whom 2892 were PB and 356 MB cases. A total of 58 cases of relapse was reported which gives a crude cumulative relapse rate of 1.78% for the 16-year period of follow-up and the rates for PB and MB were 1.9% and 0.84% respectively. With respect to PB cases, 68% of relapses were reported in the first 3 years of RFT. The person-year relapse rate was highly significant with regard to the number of skin lesions (p<0.0002) and nerve involvement (p<0.0002). The person-year relapse rate did not differ significantly between PB and MB leprosy, male and female, and child and adult cases. RFT year cohort relapse rate reveals that the introduction of MB-MDT regimen for PB leprosy had resulted in the reduction of relapses among PB cases after 1998. The relapse rate with reference to the time gap after RFT reveals that relapse declines with passage of time after RFT. The risk of relapse was very low in both PB and MB leprosy which fact emphasizes that proper counselling about signs and symptoms of relapse during RFT is adequate to combat the problem. A majority of relapses occurred in the first three years after RFT. The number of skin lesions and involvement of nerves were the main risk factors for relapse.