Factitiously low amylase values.

When a commercial substrate was used in the determination of serum amylase activities of patients with acute pancreatitis, results much higher than those reported by the manufacturer with similar patients were found. A failure to quantitate all of the reducing groups liberated during incubation may account for the lower results. A modified saccharogenic method has been developed, which, by increasing the ratios of starch to enzyme and copper to reducing sugars, considerably extends the range of the determination. Unequivocally elevated serum and urine amylase values can be measured without repetition of all or part of the test and with good precision.