It has been hypothesized that prolonged achlorhydria causes compensatory elevation of serum gastrin, and that there is an association in rats between sustained hypergastrinemia, hyperplasia of gastric enterochromaffin-like cells, and subsequent formation of gastric carcinoids in 2-year carcinogenicity studies. The present study examined whether daily administration of gastric antisecretory drugs in rats for 4 days could cause hypergastrinemia associated with inhibition of acid output. Rats were dosed orally for 4 days with the histamine H2-receptor antagonist ranitidine or the H+,K+-sensitive ATPase inhibitor omeprazole, and examined on day 5 for effects on gastric acid secretion and serum gastrin. Omeprazole (138 mg/kg/day significantly inhibited gastric acid secretion and increased serum gastrin levels. Large, single daily doses of ranitidine (1000-2000 mg/kg/day) had no effect on 24-hr acid or gastrin secretion; however, ranitidine did inhibit next-day acid secretion with associated increases in serum gastrin when administered in three divided doses. These results with ranitidine support the hypothesis that a sustained gastric antisecretory action will cause a compensatory hypergastrinemia, regardless of the antisecretory agent used. The ability to detect increased serum gastrin levels associated with inhibition of acid secretion, after administration of antisecretory agents for only 4 days, suggest that this short 5-day test may be useful for determining the potential of antisecretory agents to cause hypergastrinemia due to 24-hr inhibition of acid secretion and may be predictive of long-term hyperplastic changes.