Zinc and magnesium output in pancreatic juice after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Determinations were made of the Zn and Mg contents of pancreatic juice in 12 cases undergoing external pancreatic duct drainage following pancreaticoduodenectomy in order to investigate the output and excretion pattern of trace elements in pancreatic juice and also to study their relations to pancreatic enzyme secretion and fibrosis of the pancreas. THe results indicate that the output of Zn in pancreatic juice ran parallel with amylase activity and was closely related to secretion of pancreatic enzymes. Relatively smaller variations were noted of the Mg content in pancreatic juice during the postoperative course, with the pattern of Mg excretion in pancreatic juice being dependent upon the volume of pancreatic juice secreted. The output of both Zn and Mg in pancreatic juice correlated with the volume of the residual pancreatic parenchyma. The amylase/Zn concentration ratio of pancreatic juice remained stationary postoperatively in all cases and was shown to have a negative correlation with the pancreatic parenchymal ratio. The findings suggest that the amylase/Zn concentration ratio can be a reliable indication of the degree of pancreatic fibrosis or of pancreatic exocrine function.