A COMPARISON OF OROCECAL TRANSIT TIMES ASSESSED BY THE BREATH HYDROGEN TEST AND THE SULPHASALAZINE SULPHAPYRIDINE METHOD IN HEALTHY BEAGLE DOGS/

Orocaecal-transit time (OCTT) was assessed in six healthy beagles by m eans of the breath hydrogen test (BH2T) and the sulphasalazine/sulphap yridine method (SLZ) after the administration of a test meal of canned food mixed with sulphasalazine. Orocaecal transit time was defined as the time taken from the oral administration of the test meal to the t ime when the first portion of the meal reached the colon. In five of t he dogs the OCTTs assessed by the BH2T were shorter than those measure d by the SLZ method by 30, 15, 45, 30 and 45 minutes. However, the med ian OCTT assessed by the BH2T (135 minutes, range 120 to 195 minutes) was not significantly different from that measured by the SLZ (180 min utes, range 150 to 210 minutes) and was highly correlated with it (r=0 .94, P=0.016). The sixth dog maintained baseline hydrogen and plasma s ulphapyridine readings throughout the monitoring period and the OCTT c ould not be measured.