[Investigation of the bile acid metabolism of children with subtotal atrophy of intestinal mucosa (author's transl)].

A secretin-pancreozymin test was conducted with 43 gastroenterologically healthy children and 12 patients with subtotal atrophy of intestinal mucosa. While the pancreas enzymes were normal, the patients with coeliac disease reacted to the injection of the peptide hormones by producing a larger volume of secretion than did the control group. Despite the increased secretion there was at the same time a significantly higher concentration of bile acids in the duodenal juice. Analysis of the bile acid distribution indicated no deviation from the norm. There was, however, a striking discrepancy between the bile acid and the bilirubin excretion in the children with subtotal atrophy, whose bilirubin secretion, compared to that of the control group, was greatly reduced.