title: Effect of gastric intubation of the gastric loss of serum albumin.
abstract: In a group of 18 inpatients, the catabolism of serum albumin rate, in percentage of intravascular albumin pool, was measured during two successive periods of 7 days. In the first experimental period, we did no intubation, while during the second, a tube was kept in the stomach, with an overnight intragastric perfusion of an isotonic solution of sodium bicarbonate. With the same batches of labelled albumin, we measured the serum albumin catabolism, in a similar way, in a group of 19 normal subjects, for two weeks, without gastric intubation. The difference in the rate of serum albumin catabolism, during the first and second period, is positive and amounts to +0.547 percent +/- 0.214 (mean +/- SEM) in the intubated group, and +0.765 percent +/- 0.207 in the control group. The weaker decrease in catabolism rate during the second period in the intubated group, as compared to the control group, is not statistically significant (t = 0.731). We conclude that continuous intubation of the stomach for 7 days does not increase the catabolism rate of serum albumin. Therefore, it should not significantly increase the loss of albumin in the gastric lumen.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D007441:Intubation, Gastrointestinal; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012709:Serum Albumin