[Evaluation of analytic test methods. Stomach-intestines status is the best diagnostic method in suspected vitamin B12 deficiency].

In the great majority of cases vitamin B12 deficiency is caused by chronic atrophic gastritis. This study has compared several different tests for the identification of patients for whom substitution therapy is needed or warranted. It is concluded that serum tests reflecting the state of the gastric body mucosa (serum pepsinogen A combined with serum gastrin or serum pepsinogen C) appear to be the logical first step in the workup of these patients in terms of high sensitivity and superior specificity as compared with other tests.