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Soluble CD40 ligand in prediction of acute severe pancreatitis
Jean Louis Frossard1, Philippe Morel, Brenda Kwak
1Division of Gastroenterology, Geneva University Hospital, 1211 Genève 14, Switzerland. jean-louis.frossard@hcuge.ch
Aim:
To assess the early predictability of the soluble CD40L (sCD40L) in pancreatitis severity.
Methods:
Between February 2000 and February 2003, 279 consecutive patients with acute pancreatitis were prospectively enrolled in our study. In this report, 40 patients with mild and 40 patients with severe pancreatitis were randomly studied. sCD40L concentrations were measured 48 hours after admission.
Results:
sCD40L levels were significantly higher 48 hours after admission in severe pancreatitis than in mild pancreatitis. Using a cutoff of 1000 pg/L, the sensitivity and specificity of sCD40L to detect a severe course of the disease were 78% and 62% respectively compared to 72% and 81% for CRP. Logistic regression analysis found that CRP was the only statistically significant marker able to detect a severe course of the disease.
Conclusion:
These findings indicate that CRP remains a valuable marker to determine the severity and prognosis of acute pancreatitis whereas sCD40L levels should be assessed in further studies.
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