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. 1988 Apr;29(4):511–515. doi: 10.1136/gut.29.4.511

Assessment of the lactulose-mannitol test in Crohn's disease.

F Andre 1, C Andre 1, Y Emery 1, J Forichon 1, L Descos 1, Y Minaire 1
PMCID: PMC1433525  PMID: 3131194

Abstract

The mannitol-lactulose intestinal permeability test was evaluated in 100 healthy controls and 47 patients with Crohn's disease. These patients were further separated into three subgroups of increased activity (Harvey-Bradshaw index) and in two subgroups, with elective colonic lesions and associated ileal and colonic lesions. Results were given as percentages of urinary recoveries for mannitol (M), lactulose (L), and L/M ratio. As a whole, patients with Crohn's disease have lower mean M and higher mean L and mean L/M ratios than controls. The magnitude of alterations in M, L, and L/M increased with activity. The sensitivity of the test, however, reached interesting figures (67%:L and 86%:L/M) only in subgroup III which was composed of relapsing patients. Mean M was lower in patients with associated ileal lesion but, whatever the criterion (M, L, or L/M), the test does not provide any clue for the detection of a possible infraclinical associated ileal localisation.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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