Pancreatic enzyme supplement improves dysmotility in chronic pancreatitis patients.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Impaired gallbladder contraction and rapid gastric emptying in patients with chronic pancreatitis may be the result of depleted pancreatic exocrine function. The authors tested whether oral pancreatic enzymes can improve the dysmotility or not.

METHODS: Study subjects consisted of 15 patients with chronic pancreatitis and 18 healthy controls. The gastric emptying time and gallbladder contraction were studied. All patients were initially studied using a test meal without pancreatic enzymes, followed on separate days by a test meal with a single and a triple dose of pancreatic enzymes. Blood samples were taken before and 2 h after the test meal to determine the pancreatic polypeptide levels.

RESULTS: In patients with chronic pancreatitis, gallbladder contraction at 15 min after the meal was impaired. The gastric emptying time was faster and the ratio of pre- to postprandial pancreatic polypeptide levels was enhanced. A single dose and a triple dose of oral enzymes further improved the gastric emptying time and the pancreatic polypeptide ration, but did not improve the gallbladder contraction rate at 15 min.

CONCLUSIONS: It was demonstrated that the oral pancreatic enzymes improved the gastric dysmotility, confirming the previous findings that suggested the depleted pancreatic enzyme output caused the dysmotility.