Sucrose tolerance test - plasma
Last updated: Saturday, 27, March, 2004
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| Item | Process |
|---|---|
| Specimen | 2 mL blood in lithium heparin tube taken pre-test and at half hourly intervals during test. |
| Method | Spectrophotometry. Sucrose tolerance can also be assessed by measurement of breath hydrogen every half hour for three hours after the sucrose is administered. See Hydrogen - breath. |
| Protocol | The patient takes 1 g sucrose per kg body weight, up to a maximum of 50 g, in a flavoured drink over 10 minutes. Blood specimens are taken pre-test and half hourly for two hours. The specimens are analysed for glucose (by spectrophotometry). |
| Reference Interval | >1.0 mmol/L rise in plasma glucose. |
| Application | Investigation of sucrose intolerance. As the test often results in diarrhoea and abdominal pain in affected individuals it has been generally superseded by the assay of sucrase in a small bowel biopsy. |
| Interpretation | A subnormal rise in plasma glucose indicates sucrose intolerance. |
| Reference | Perman JA et al. J Pediatr 1978; 93: 17-22. |