Dexamethasone and dextran 40 treatment of 32 patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Aim: Based on the pathogenesis of severe acute pancreatitis and our experimental studies, to investigate the effect of dexamethasone and dextran in treatment of patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

Methods: Thirty-two patients with severe acute pancreatitis were treated with 0.5-1 mg/kg per day dexamethasone for 3-5 d, and 500-1,000 mL/d of dextran 40 for 7 d, besides the routine therapy.

Results: After 4-8 h of treatment, abdominal pain began to be relieved; range of tenderness began to be localized in 27 patients. They were cured with nonsurgical treatment. Five of them were deteriorated, and treated with surgery. Four patients in this group died.

Conclusion: Dexamethasone and dextran 40 block the pathologic process of severe acute pancreatitis through inhibition of inflammatory mediators and improvement of microcirculation disorders respectively.