Serum leptin and ghrelin levels in patients in the early stages of acute biliary pancreatitis and different degrees of severity.

Unlabelled: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a potentially fatal disease. In animal experiments leptin and ghrelin were shown to modulate the course of AP. The aim of the study was to estimate the relationship between the severity of acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) and serum levels of leptin and ghrelin in nonobese patients in the first seven days of the hospitalization.

Plasma pentraxin 3 concentrations in patients with acute pancreatitis.

Background: Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) belongs to the acute phase proteins; its concentration increases significantly in the early stages of inflammation. In nearly 20% of patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) escalated inflammation leads to the development of severe forms of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of changes in PTX3 concentration in patients with AP at the early stage of the disease (first 5 days from admission) and to assess the relationship between PTX3 and other inflammatory markers.

[Analysis of selected inflammatory markers for early prediction of severe clinical course of acute pancreatitis].

Despite new diagnostic methods, including novel laboratory parameters and imaging techniques, and growing knowledge on pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis, early assessment of severity remains the main factor influencing prognosis in the disease. The aim of the study was the evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of interleukins (IL): 6 and 18 and acute phase proteins: C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA), together with Glasgow prognostic score during first 48 hours after diagnosing acute pancreatitis in a group of 40 patients treated in the I-st Department of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery University Hospital in Cracow. All the studied inflammatory markers were significantly higher in patients with moderate and severe acute pancreatitis versus patients with mild form of the disease on the first 48 hours of the disease.

Individual patient data meta-analysis of organ failure in acute pancreatitis: protocol of the PANCREA II study.

Context: Organ failure is a major determinant of mortality in patients with acute pancreatitis. These patients usually require admission to high dependency or intensive care units and consume considerable health care resources. Given a low incidence rate of organ failure and a lack of large non-interventional studies in the field of acute pancreatitis, the characteristics of organ failure that influence outcomes of patients with acute pancreatitis remain largely unknown.

Serum proinflammatory cytokine levels and white blood cell differential count in patients with different degrees of severity of acute alcoholic pancreatitis.

Unlabelled: Several studies suggest that cytokines and neutrophils play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis (AP). The AIM OF THE STUDY was to assess the systemic release of proinflammatory cytokines and WBC (white blood cells) count with differential in patients with acute alcoholic pancreatitis (AAP) and to characterize the differences between patients with mild and severe forms of the disease.

Material And Methods: Thirty-five patients with the mild form of acute alcoholic pancreatitis (MAAP) were compared to 11 patients with severe acute alcoholic pancreatitis (SAAP).

Serum matrix Gla protein concentrations in patients with mild and severe acute pancreatitis.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) causes an increase in proinflammatory cytokine and acute phase protein levels. Our previous studies in AP showed the role of fetuin A as a negative acute phase protein. Matrix Gla protein (MGP), beside fetuin A, is one of the main inhibitors of extraosseous calcification.

[Analysis of osteopontin in patients with acute pancreatitis].

The aim of this study was to analyze osteopontin (OPN) concentrations in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) and its suitability for diagnosis and prediction of severity during the first 3 days from admission to hospital. The study group consisted of 40 patients admitted and hospitalized at I-st and II-nd Depatments of Surgery Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum in Krakow. All laboratory tests necessary for diagnosis and monitoring of patients were performed in the Diagnostic Dept.

Serum fetuin A concentrations in patients with acute pancreatitis.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a mild and self-limiting disease in most patients, but necrotizing pancreatitis develops in up to 20 - 30% of the cases. Early recognition of severe AP has been considered as a key determinant of successful therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of fetuin A as the new predictor of complications and fatal outcome during acute pancreatitis (AP).

[Role and indications of ERCP in treatment of acute biliary pancreatitis].

Results of endoscopic treatment of patients with biliary acute pancreatitis are presented. Initially this form of treatment was rather performed in the late period of the disease. After publication of the controlled randomized study by Neoptolemos and Carr-Locke'a, this method of the treatment was recommended in the early phase of the disease within the first 72 hours after hospital admission and only in patients with severe acute biliary pancreatitis.

[The role of nitric oxide (NO) in acute pancreatitis].

The hypothesis of the role of nitric oxide (NO) in acute pancreatitis (AP) is variable. According to some authors, increased level of nitric oxide has a positive influence on the course of AP. On the other hands, others show negative role of NO in this disease.

[Microcirculatory disturbance in the course of acute pancreatitis].

Although as many studies are sacrificed to acute pancreatitis (AP), the pathogenesis of the disease remains undiscovered. The microcirculatory disturbances during AP as a cause of necrotic changes in the parenchyma of the gland, described first time by Panum in 1886, have become again a very attractive theory. In the last decades, several studies were done to prove that microcirculatory impairment plays a crucial role in pathogenesis of severe AP.

Blood serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines in patients with different degrees of biliary pancreatitis.

Background: Proinflammatory cytokines play a fundamental role in the local and systemic inflammatory responses in the initial stages of acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) and in the development of severe forms of the disease.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the systemic release of proinflammatory cytokines and to characterize differences between patients with mild ABP (MABP) and severe ABP (SABP).

Patients And Methods: In the current study, 54 patients with MABP were compared with 14 patients with SABP.

[Acute pancreatitis in pregnant women--case reports].

Two patients with acute pancreatitis were presented. In the first case the disease occurred in the 32 week of pregnancy and in the perinatal period in second case. Some changes in lipid metabolism and composition of the bile in pregnant women and their role in pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis are discussed.

Comparison of sensitivity and specificity of serum poly-C avid ribonuclease activity and C-reactive protein concentration in detection of mild and severe acute pancreatitis.

The aim of this study was to compare diagnostic performance of C-reactive protein (CRP) and poly-C avid ribonuclease (P-RNase) levels in the prediction of a severe clinical course of acute pancreatitis (AP). The study included 36 patients with mild and 20 with severe AP. CRP concentration was measured by an immunonephelometric method and P-RNase activity by the rate of polycytidylate hydrolysis at pH 7.

[Minimally invasive techniques in the treatment of acute biliary pancreatitis].

43 cases of consecutive bilary acute pancreatitis were treated by early endoscopic sphincterotomy and laparoscopic cholecystectomy within first 48 hours after admission. The basic cause of disturbance of bile outflow was microlithiasis. Course of the disease was monitored by level of proinflammatory interleukins in the blood serum of analysed patients.