A dye-resin test for achlorhydria.

The use of resins as a basis for "tubeless test meals " has made the unpleasant experience of aspiration of gastric contents unnecessary in many cases. A substance incorporated in the resin is released in the stomach only in the presence of free hydrochloric acid. This substance is then absorbed into the blood and excreted in the urine. Originally quinine was used in the test, and estimated fluorimetrically in the urine (Segal, Miller, and Morton, 1950; Harkness and Durant, 1953). Later, methylene blue was used instead of quinine, as it is more easily detected (Goldbloom, Feinstein, and Eiber, 1955; Segal, Miller, and Plumb, 1955). Although different modifications describe varying degrees of quantitative exactness, the method is essentially a qualitative one. If no dye appears in the urine the patient is presumed to have achlorhydria. No measure of the level of gastric acidity is shown by the amount of dye in the urine. As a simple qualitative test for achlorhydria the dye-resin test can be substituted for a test-meal in many cases. When prepared in the laboratory the cost per test is between two and three pence instead of 4s., which is the cost of the proprietary preparation.