Quantitative assessment of fat absorption and its diagnostic value in exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

A new method of quantifying fat absorption based on the estimation of serum triglyceride levels is described. When long chain triglyceride (LCT) was fed to normal dogs a significant elevation of serum triglyceride concentration was recorded which was not observed in dogs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. When the test was repeated on the dogs with pancreatic insufficiency using the LCT together with lipase the serum triglyceride concentration increased, suggesting the failure in the initial test was caused by a deficiency in pancreatic lipase. Feeding medium chain triglyceride (MCT) did not raise the serum triglyceride levels in normal dogs.