The excretion of dimethadione in pure pancreatic juice and bile in postoperative patients.

The excretion of dimethadione (DMO) in pure pancreatic juice and bile was studied in postoperative patients undergoing external drainage of pancreatic juice and in those who had undergone percutaneous transhepatic cholangiodrainage. During and after oral administration of trimethadione, which is the precursor of DMO, pancreatic DMO concentration closely paralleled plasma DMO concentration. Pancreatic juice/plasma concentration ratio for DMO exceeded 1.0. In a patient with a large pancreatic cyst communicating with the main pancreatic duct, pancreatic DMO concentration after single rapid injection of secretin inversely correlated with the flow rate, while its output depended directly on the rate. Biliary DMO output after secretin injection was closely dependent on the flow rate, but was extremely low. The present results are essentially compatible with the findings previously observed in dogs.