Role of Serum Interleukin-6 and C-reactive Protein in Early Prediction of Severe Acute Pancreatitis

BACKGROUND: Early prediction of severity is an important goal in acute pancreatitis (AP), to identify 20% of patients who are likely to have a severe course. Such patients have an expected mortality of 15–20% and may benefit from early admission to high dependency or intensive care units, with parenteral or nasojejunal feeding and prophylactic antibiotics. In severe AP (SAP), multiorgan dysfunction accounts for most of early deaths. AIMS: The aim of this article is to assess the role of serum interleukin (IL)-6 and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in early prediction of severity of AP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This observational analytical study was conducted in the Department of General Surgery and Department of Biochemistry in our hospital in 62 patients as per inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: IL-6 on day 1 and day 2 as well as CRP on day 2 was 100% sensitive but IL-6 on day 1 and day 2 had a maximum specificity of 88.37% among them when compared with a specificity of 81.4% of CRP on day 2. Though CRP on day 1 also had a specificity of 88.37%, its sensitivity was 89.47%. CONCLUSION: IL-6 and CRP together appear to be a promising marker for assessing the severity of AP within 48 h. We recommend to do IL-6 and CRP in patients with AP, which can help in predicting severity of the disease in patients.