ABSTRACT
AIM: To find the most reproducible quantitative parameter of a standard (13)C-methacetin breath test ((13)C-MBT). METHODS: Twenty healthy volunteers (10 female, 10 male) underwent the (13)C-MBT after intake of 75 mg (13)C-methacetin p.o. on three occasions. Short- and medium-term reproducibility was assessed with paired examinations taken at an interval of 2 and 18 d (medians), respectively. RESULTS: The reproducibility of the 1-h cumulative (13)C recovery (AUC(0-60)), characterized by a coefficient of variation of 10%, appeared to be considerably better than the reproducibility of the maximum momentary (13)C recovery or the time of reaching it. Remarkably, as opposed to the short gap between consecutive examinations, the capacity of the liver to handle (13)C-methacetin increased slightly but statistically significantly when a repeat dose was administered after two to three weeks. Regarding the AUC(0-60), the magnitude of this fixed bias amounted to 7.5%. Neither the time gap between the repeat examinations nor the gender of the subjects affected the (13)C-MBT reproducibility. CONCLUSION: (13)C-MBT is most reproducibly quantified by the cumulative (13)C recovery, but the exactitude thereof may be modestly affected by persistent stimulation of CYP1A2 on repeat examinations.
