title: 13C-urea breath test in patients having undergone total gastrectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, we performed 13C-urea breath test in patients who had undergone total gastrectomy and investigated the content of (13)CO2 in the CO2 gas expired after direct influx of 13C-urea into the small intestine.
  
  
  METHODS
  13C-Urea breath test was performed in 31 patients who had undergone total gastrectomy at this department for the treatment of stomach cancer and consented to participate in this study. The test was performed in two ways, i.e. with and without mouth washing (gargling) on taking 13C-urea.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 41 measurements, the delta13C was less than 2.5% per hundred in 9 measurements (22.2%) and less than 2.0% per hundred in 6 measurements (14.6%). The delta13C exceeded 50% per hundred, in 4 subjects (9.8%). There were no differences between the methods with and without gargling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study suggested the possibility that 13C-urea is decomposed even in the jejunum or the lower part of intestine resulting in absorption of H(13)CO3 and another possibility that 13C-urea is directly absorbed from the intestine and decomposed in the blood.
authors: First Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Kanagawa, 236-0004, Japan. rino@med.yokohama-cu.ac.jp
authors: Yasushi
authors: Y
authors: Rino
authors: Yoshinori
authors: Y
authors: Takanashi
authors: Kimiatsu
authors: K
authors: Hasuo
authors: Akio
authors: A
authors: Ashida
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Harada
authors: Masakazu
authors: M
authors: Kawamoto
authors: Shinsuke
authors: S
authors: Hatori
authors: Roppei
authors: R
authors: Yamada
authors: Daisuke
authors: D
authors: Inagaki
authors: Toshio
authors: T
authors: Imada
mesh_terms: D001944:Breath Tests; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D014508:Urea / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D014508:Urea