Effect of a duodenal tube on the gastric secretion of acid and pepsin in man

The ‘basal’ gastric secretion collected during 3 hours with a gastric Levin tube and a gastroduodenal Lagerlof tube was compared in 11 subjects. The Lagerlof tube gave significantly higher pepsin output, pepsin concentration, and pepsin/acid ratio than the Levin tube, and showed a significant non-steady state level of volume, acid concentration, acid output, pepsin output, and pepsin/acid ratio. The effect of the Lagerlof tube was not dependent on the duodenal drainage. Perfusing the duodenum with secretin-stimulated duodenal juice in 4 subjects did not stimulate more pepsin than the tube alone.