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REEVALUATION OF THE HOLLANDER TEST
Author(s) -
Bachrach William H.,
Bachrach Lailee B.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1967.tb51014.x
Subject(s) - vagotomy , medicine , peptic ulcer , gastric emptying , surgery , stomach , gastroenterology
Summary More than twenty years have elapsed since Hollander introduced a procedure for testing vagal function, yet the technique, and particularly the interpretation, of the test is still being modified in an effort to establish its value for determining the completeness of vagotomy. There is no proof that continuous gastric aspiration with determination of total acid output has any advantage over Hollander's original method of intermittent aspiration and determination of acidity only. It is probable that a two‐hour basal period and a two‐hour post‐insulin collection or sampling of the gastric content will provide all the information necessary to make a decision regarding the presence or absence of vagal innervation to the stomach in the majority of cases. There remains a considerable number of post‐vagotomy patients in whom the interpretation of the test continues to present problems, and it is in this area that further refinements of the procedure are required. The possibility of recurrence of extra‐gastric peptic ulcer disease after complete vagotomy would seriously limit the value of the Hollander test. On the basis of the evidence to date, recurrent ulcer is either a rare development in a patient with a repeatedly negative Hollander test, or cases of this type are not being reported. Methods for evaluating the adequacy of vagotomy without the use of insulin have been advocated; whether these will prove superior to the Hollander test as now performed remains for further experience to determine.