The significance of the sweat test in chronic pancreatitis.

In order to study the disposition which is thought to be latent 
in chronic pancreatitis, we investigated the sweat chloride concentration of 95 
normal subjects, 43 cases of chronic pancreatitis, 12 cases of cholelithiasis, 
15 cases of peptic ulcers, 16 cases of hepatic diseases and 
23 cases of diabetes mellitus with the sweat test, using the 
method of pilocarpine iontophoresis. We obtained the following results. (1) In 
normal subjects, the sweat chloride concentration was inclined to rise gradually 
with age from childhood to adulthood; the mean value of sweat 
chloride concentration was 30.0 mEq/liter in adults from 20 years old, 
and the upper limit was about 60 mEq/liter. (2) The mean 
value of sweat chloride concentration was 60.0 mEq/liter in chronic calcifying 
pancreatitis; this value was markedly higher than that of control subjects 
of the same age (p is less than 0.001). (3) The 
mean value of sweat chloride concentration in cholelithiasis, peptic ulcer and 
hepatic diseases did not differ significantly from control subjects. The mean 
value of sweat chloride concentration in diabetes mellitus was significantly higher 
than that of control subjects (p is less than 0.01), but 
was significantly lower than that in chronic pancreatitis (p is less 
than 0.01). (4) It was supposed that some cases of chronic 
pancreatitis have a congenital disposition toward abnormal secretion of sweat glands 
and epithelium in the pancreatic duct, resembling cystic fibrosis, and this 
disposition leads easily to pancreatic disorders when the individual is exposed 
to various external factors. 