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Fasting gastric pH and its relationship to true hypochlorhydria in humans

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Abstract

Abnormally low rates of gastric acid secretion (hypochlorhydria) are associated with bacterial overgrowth, enteric infection, and with hypergastrinemia and an increased risk of gastric neoplasms. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of fasting gastric juice pH measurements to detect true hypochlorhydria. True hypochlorhydria was defined as a peak acid output in response to a maximally effective stimulant of acid secretion that was below the lower limit of normal for 365 consecutive healthy subjects. In these healthy subjects, average basal pH was 2.16±0.09 in men and 2.79±0.18 in women. In 109 consecutive experiments in 28 subjects with true hypochlorhydria, fasting gastric pH averaged 7.44±0.11 in men and 7.65±0.33 in women. Fasting pH exceeded the upper 95% confidence limit of normal (5.09 in men and 6.81 in women) in 102 of the 109 experiments (94%). Thus, fasting pH measurement was a sensitive method for diagnosing bona fide hypochlorhydria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, 4500 South Lancaster, 75216, Dallas, Texas

    Mark Feldman MD & Cora Barnett BS

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

    Mark Feldman MD & Cora Barnett BS

Authors
  1. Mark Feldman MD
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  2. Cora Barnett BS
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Additional information

This work was supported by the National Institute of Healthy (DK 16168) and by the Department of Veterans Afffairs.

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Feldman, M., Barnett, C. Fasting gastric pH and its relationship to true hypochlorhydria in humans. Digest Dis Sci 36, 866–869 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01297133

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01297133

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