Balance studies in healthy subjects with wellestablished ileostomies have demonstrated that 30 to 90 mEq per day of sodium is excreted in the ileal dejecta (1-10). In a prior investigation we found a mean sodium excretion of 60.3 mEq per day (11). To determine whether the ileal sodium loss can be altered by varying the amount of sodium ingested, different sodium loads were administered orally to ileostomized subjects. Experimental data of this nature are not available in man.
MethodsThree female subjects (M.C., aged 36; M.O., aged 28; and J.B., aged 34) with normal functioning ileostomies participated in the studies. An ileostomy and colectomy had been performed on each for ulcerative colitis 3 to 6 years before. The procedure previously used to study ileostomized individuals (11) was modified for the proper execution of the present investigation.Our subjects lived at home and performed their normal activities. All studies were conducted during the winter months so as to minimize water and electrolyte losses by perspiration. Four different sodium regimens, each of which lasted 6 days, were administered. One contained that amount obtained from the basic low sodium diet alone; in the others, 4.0, 9.0, and 15.0 g per day of sodium chloride were added to the basic diet. Therefore, the sodium intake per day was 9, 77, 161, and 262 mEq, respectively. These particular quantities were selected because they represented a low sodium intake, the average amount lost in the ileal excreta, the amount contained in a normal diet, and an excessive intake. The sodium chloride was weighed out into small paper envelopes, each of which contained the supply for the day; tity. Otherwise, intervals on a normal sodium intake separated the study periods. A low sodium diet calculated to yield a daily intake of approximately 200 mg or 9 mEq of sodium was selected by each subject according to personal preference. The values for the caloric, carbohydrate, fat, protein, sodium, and potassium content of foods were obtained (12, 13). Once the diet was chosen by each subject it remained the same for the four different sodium regimens. The menu was not identical for each day of a study period, but the same foods and beverages were consumed on the corresponding day of each of the four regimens. The daily liquid intake remained constant. Each item of food or drink ingested was weighed in grams on a dietary scale by each subject, and the amount was recorded on daily intake sheets. In this way it was possible to determine the care with which the dietary regimens were followed during the four study periods. Only minor deviations in the diet occurred when the different study periods were compared; none of these deviations could possibly account for the results obtained.Ileal excreta were passed into plastic ileostomy bags, and the urine into sodium-free plastic bottles. Collection of the ileal dejecta and urine would start each day at the same hour; the subjects would also weigh themselves. Small portable refrigerators were furnished to store the ilea...