Reduced lymphocyte count as an early marker for predicting infected pancreatic necrosis

BACKGROUND: Early occurrence of immunosuppression is a risk factor for infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) in the patients with acute pancreatitis (AP). However, current measures for the immune systems are too cumbersome and not widely available. Significantly decreased lymphocyte count has been shown in patients with severe but not mild type of AP. Whereas, the correlation between the absolute lymphocyte count and IPN is still unknown. We conduct this study to reveal the exact relationship between early lymphocyte count and the development of IPN in the population of AP patients. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-three patients with acute pancreatitis admitted to Jinling Hospital during the period of January 2012 to July 2014 were included in this retrospective study. The absolute lymphocyte count and other relevant parameters were measured on admission. The diagnosis of IPN was based on the definition of the revised Atlanta classification. RESULTS: Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of IPN. Thirty patients developed infected necrotizing pancreatitis during the disease course. The absolute lymphocyte count in patients with IPN was significantly lower on admission (0.62 × 10(9)/L, interquartile range [IQR]: 0.46–0.87 × 10(9)/L vs. 0.91 × 10(9)/L, IQR: 0.72–1.27 × 10(9)/L, p < 0.001) and throughout the whole clinical course than those without IPN. Logistic regression indicated that reduced lymphocyte count was an independent risk factor for IPN. The optimal cut-offs from ROC curve was 0.66 × 10(9)/L giving sensitivity of 83.7 % and specificity of 66.7 %. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced lymphocyte count within 48 h of AP onset is significantly and independently associated with the development of IPN.