Serum Phospholipase A2in Human Acute Pancreatitis

Abstract

The main problem in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is the early detection of the fulminant forms. There is no single laboratory test that affords an unequivocal measure of the severity of the disease. Serum phospholipase A2 concentrations in 66 consecutive patients with acute or chronic relapsing pancreatitis were studied; 52 patients had a mild spontaneously healing form of the disease, whereas 8 patients developed a pseudocyst or an abscess. Six patients had operatively established hemorrhagic pancreatitis. The serum phospholipase A2 concentrations were significantly higher in the patients with hemorrhagic pancreatitis than in those with a spontaneously healing disease. In patients with a milder form of the disease the serum phospholipase A2 concentrations correlated with prognostic signs suggested by others. Assaying of serum phospholipase A2 might be a valuable tool in the diagnosis and follow-up study of patients with acute pancreatitis.