Sincalide

Does Sincalide work?

Partly: some human trials, with gaps. The key study had 60 healthy people.

Sincalide is a diagnostic drug approved in 1976 on physiological studies, not outcome trials. The main modern evidence is a multicenter study of 60 healthy volunteers that compared infusion methods and set normal values for gallbladder ejection fraction. That is enough to establish it does what the label says, but there are no randomized trials showing that sincalide-based testing improves patient outcomes. ¹²

A multicenter study in 60 healthy volunteers at four centers gave each person sincalide over 15, 30 and 60 minutes on separate days. This happened during hepatobiliary scintigraphy. The 60-minute infusion gave the steadiest gallbladder emptying. The coefficient of variation was 19 percent, against 35 percent at 30 minutes and 52 percent at 15 minutes. The study set the lower limit of a normal gallbladder ejection fraction at 38 percent for that method. The authors recommended the 60-minute infusion as the standard for routine use. ¹

The approved uses in the label rest on earlier studies of body function. These showed that sincalide makes the gallbladder contract, which shows on imaging. It increases pancreatic enzyme output when given with secretin. It also shortens the time barium takes to pass through the small bowel. ²

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Reference information only, not medical advice. Drawn from the Sincalide article, fact-checked against the cited sources. No dosing anywhere on this site.