Low-grade inflammation for predicting severe acute pancreatitis in patients with hypertriglyceridemic acute pancreatitis

Objectives

We aimed to evaluate the association between low-grade inflammation (LGI) and the severity of hypertriglyceridemic acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP).

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 311 patients with HTG-AP who were admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology, Fujian Provincial Hospital between April 2012 and March 2021. Inpatient medical and radiological records were reviewed to collect the clinical manifestations, disease severity, and comorbidities. C-reactive protein (CRP) level, white blood cell (WBC) count, platelet (PLT) count, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were considered LGI components and were combined to calculate a standardized LGI score. The association between the LGI score and the severity of HTG-AP was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results

Of the 311 patients with HTG-AP, 47 (15.1%) had mild acute pancreatitis (MAP), 184 (59.2%) had moderately severe acute pancreatitis (MSAP), and 80 (25.7%) had severe acute pancreatitis (SAP), respectively. Patients with MSAP and SAP had a higher LGI score than those with MAP (1.50 vs −6.00, P < 0.001). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with LGI scores in the fourth quartile were more likely to have MSAP and SAP (odds ratio [OR] 21.925, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.014–95.867, P < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that low calcium (OR 0.105, 95% CI 0.011–0.969, P = 0.047) and high LGI score (OR 1.253, 95% CI 1.066–1.473, P = 0.006) were associated with MSAP and SAP. When predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis, the LGI score had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (0.7737) compared to its individual components.

Conclusion

An elevated LGI score was associated with a higher risk of SAP in patients with HTG-AP.