THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF SECRETIN IN PATIENTS WITH JAUNDICE - DOUBLE-BLIND PLACEBO-CONTROLLED MULTICENTRIC TRIAL

Secretin, a gastrointestinal hormone, has been shown to have a potent choleretic effect. Having already obtained some beneficial effects wit h secretin in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis, we sought to con firm its effects in a double-blind placebo-controlled study in patient s with mild jaundice after acute or during chronic hepatitis, where to tal bilirubin level was in excess of 4.0 mg/dl for 3 days or more. Pat ients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholang itis (PSC), and familiar hyperbilirubinemia were excluded from the stu dy. Ninety-three patients were included in this analysis, but the fina l evaluation covered 69 of them. No statisticaly significant differenc es were found in the reduction of serum bilirubin levels between secre tin and placebo groups. As a number of patients with liver cirrhosis h ad been included, the subjects were subdivided into one group with cho lestasis in hepatitis and one with fiver cirrhosis. In the subgroup of cirrhotic patients who received secretin, serum levels of AST were si gnificantly increased compared with the placebo group. However, since the choleretic effect of secretin is unique, further studies seem to b e warranted.