Misdiagnosis of the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome due to hyperlipidemia

Most authorities feel that diagnosis of the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is established when the serum gastrin level is greater than 1000 pg/mL (1000 ng/L) in a patient with gastric acid hypersecretion and clinical manifestations consistent with the diagnosis. A patient with recurrent peptic ulcer dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGastroenterology (New York, N.Y. 1943) Vol. 99; no. 5; p. 1511
Main Authors Romeo, D P, Weesner, R E, Giannella, R A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.1990
Subjects
Diagnostic Errors
Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal
Gastrins - blood
Humans
Hyperlipidemias - complications
Male
Middle Aged
Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome - complications
Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome - diagnosis
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Summary:Most authorities feel that diagnosis of the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is established when the serum gastrin level is greater than 1000 pg/mL (1000 ng/L) in a patient with gastric acid hypersecretion and clinical manifestations consistent with the diagnosis. A patient with recurrent peptic ulcer disease is reported who was thought to have had the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome based on two serum gastrin level measurements greater than 1000 pg/mL (1000 ng/L). Subsequent evaluation revealed the gastrin elevation to be spurious because the sample was hyperlipidemic. Lipemic serum samples may yield falsely elevated serum gastrin determinations as determined by radioimmunoassay.
ISSN:0016-5085
DOI:10.1016/0016-5085(90)91184-8