The Radio-Iodinated Triolein Test for Steatorrhea

Abstract

Summary The level of radioactivity in blood and feces following the administration of a test dose of radio-iodinated triolein (RITO) has been studied in normal subjects and in patients with steatorrhea associated with chronic pancreatitis. Simultaneous studies were made of the total lipid content of the feces. Radioactivity of whole blood was found to be as efficient as or more efficient than radioactivity of plasma or of the lipid fraction of plasma in discriminating between normal subjects and those with steatorrhea. Simultaneous ingestion of 30 or 60 ml. of nonradioactive vegetable oil with the test dose of RITO did not alter blood or fecal levels of radioactivity. Preliminary administration of Lugol's solution did not alter blood or fecal levels of radioactivity. All patients who excreted abnormally large amounts of lipid in the feces, as determined chemically, also had abnormally high levels of radioactivity in the feces. Blood radioactivity levels were below the normal range in only 4 of 14 patients who exhibited steatorrhea by the criteria of fecal lipid content and fecal radioactivity. As the test is currently performed by us and by others, the finding of a normal blood level of radioactivity does not exclude the existence of steatorrhea.