Effect of graded doses of pentagastrin in patients with and without gastritis

The effect of graded doses of pentagastrin on the gastric scretion of acid was compared in patients with and without gastritis. Biopsies were taken from the body of the stomach. Ten subjects had normal gastric mucosa, eight had superficial gastritis, and 10 atrophic gastritis. Pentagastrin in a dose of 1.5 mug/kg/hr elicited a near maximal HCl response from both the normal gastric mucosa and the mucosa with gastritis. The response to 0.3 mug/kg/hr was significantly lower than the response to 7.5 mug/kg/hr in the subjects with atrophic gastritis, while there was no significant difference in the response between the dose levels in the subjects with a normal mucosa.