Use of the hydrogen clearance technique for measurements of pancreatic blood flow

The hydrogen clearance technique (HCT) was employed for measurements of local pancreatic blood flow (PBF) in dogs, opossums, and rats under normal conditions and in opossums during biliary pancreatitis. Local PBF (ml/min/100 g) in dogs was 57.6 ± 10.4, in opossums 60.6 ± 9.5, and in rats 144.7 ± 23.4, under resting conditions. Regional distribution of local PBF in dogs showed no statistical differences. Technical aspects of the HCT were described in detail. Under physiological conditions parenchymal trauma following electrode implantation was neglegible in nearly all cases. More than 95% of registered clearance curves were monoexponential and showed excellent reproducibility of PBF values in repeated measurements (percentage deviation ≤ 6.7). Five days after initiating biliary pancreatitis by common channel ligation in opossums local PBF was 72.1 ± 14.7 after implantation of new electrodes. Chronically implanted electrodes, however, recorded only 39.7 ± 15.8, due to massive fibroproliferative alterations around the implanted electrode tips. We therefore conclude that the HCT as described is a useful tool for measuring local PBF in acute experimental settings only. Biliary pancreatitis in our model causes no significant alterations of PBF after 5 days.