Journal of clinical pathology
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To determine the usefulness of measuring amylase activity as an indicator of pancreatic disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients. ⋯ Total amylase is a poor indicator of pancreatic disease in HIV infected outpatients. Specific assays for pancreatic amylase offer advantages over the traditional total amylase assay. The lipase assay produced the least number of abnormal results and its use could improve the biochemical identification of patients with possible pancreatic disease and allow a more selective investigation of these cases.