Serum pancreatic polypeptide responses to food and secretion in patients with Billroth I and Billroth II gastrectomies and in normal subjects.

Serum pancreatic polypeptide (PP) responses to food and to secretion were measured in 7 patients with antrectomy and gastroduodenostomy (Billroth I gastrectomy), 11 patients with antretectomy and gastrojejunostomy (Billroth II gastrectomy), and 12 normal subjects. The integrated postprandial serum PP secretion was significantly lower in the patients with Billroth II gastrectomy (4.4 +/- 0.9 nmol/L X 120 min) than in the patients with Billroth I gastrectomy (9.3 +/- 2.3 nmol/l X 120 min; P less than 0.05) and the normal subjects (10.9 +/- 1.3 nmol/L X 120 min; P less than 0.001). The serum PP response to food in the patients with Billroth I gastrectomy was not significantly different from the response in the normal subjects. The serum PP responses to intravenous injection of 1 CU/kg of secretin GIH were similar in the three groups studied. These studies point to an important role of the duodenum in the postprandial secretion of PP.