Alcoholic pancreatitis and parotitis: utility of lipase and urinary amylase clearance determinations

Acute alcoholic pancreatitis is a clinical diagnosis made in patients who have acute upper abdominal pain, emesis, and hyperamylasemia soon after ingesting alcohol. We sought to determine whether the clinical diagnosis of pancreatitis was supported by elevated serum levels of pancreatic isoamylase, currently the most specific test for pancreatitis. Serum lipase levels and urinary amylase/creatinine clearance ratios were examined for comparison with pancreatic isoamylase concentrations. Potential sources for salivary isoamylasemia were explored with technetium scans of the parotid glands. Of 19 patients with a clinical diagnosis of alcoholic pancreatitis, 16 had elevated levels of pancreatic isoamylase, and 17 had salivary hyperamylasemia. The diagnostic specificity of the serum lipase level or the urinary amylase/creatinine clearance ratio was excellent compared to that of the pancreatic isoamylase level. Three patients had elevated levels of salivary isoamylase only. Scans of the parotid glands in the study group revealed significantly higher uptake values than scans in nonalcoholic control subjects, suggesting one possible source of elevated levels of salivary isoamylase.