Definition

Gastric analysis consists of a series of tests used to analyze the contents of the
stomach.The Complete series involves:
● collecting residual gastric fluid from a fasting patient
● collecting basal secretions every 15 minutes for four hours
● intramuscular administration of a drug that stimulates gastric acid output
● collecting stomach secretions every 15 minutes for 90 minutes
The appearance,blood, bile, pH, volume, millimoles of H+ per liter, millimoles of H+ per volume,
and millimoles of H+ per hour of each specimen is then evaluated.

Purpose

A gastric analysis is performed to evaluate gastric function by measuring the contents of

afasting patient's stomach the for acidity, appearance, and volume.The basal gastric secretion
testis indicated for patients with obscure gastric pain, loss of appetite, and weight loss.It is
alsoutilized for suspected peptic ulcer, severe gastritis, and Zollinger-Ellison (Z-E) syndrome.
The gastric acid stimulation test is indicated when abnormalities are found during the
basalsecretion test. These abnormalities can be caused by a number of disorders, including
duodenalulcer, pernicious anemia, and gastric cancer.While this test will detect abnormalities, x
rays andother studies are necessary to obtain a definitive diagnosis.

Precautions

Because both the basal acid output test and the gastric acid stimulation test require
gastricintubation through the mouth or nasal passage, neither test is recommended for patients
withesophageal problems, aortic aneurysm, severe gastric hemorrhage, or congestive heart
failure.The gastric acid output test is also not recommended in patients who are sensitive to
pentagastrin(the drug used to stimulate gastric acid output).

Description

This test, whether performed for basal gastric acid secretion, gastric acid stimulation, or
both,requires gastric intubation by mouth or through the nasal passage.