Mortality prognostic factors in acute pancreatitis

Background: The aim of the study was to present the biological prognostic factors of mortality in patients with acute pancreatitis. Methods: Several usual laboratory values were monitored: glucose, urea, partial pressure of oxygen, WBC count, hemoglobin, total bilirubin, and cholesterol. A statistical analysis was performed by using ROC curves and AUC interpretation. Results: The overall mortality rate was 21.1% and was different depending on the severity of the disease. Only 2.22% of the patients with a mild disease died, as opposed to 45.63% of the patients with a severe form. All the analyses studied were significantly elevated in the deceased patients. A close correlation between blood glucose, urea, partial pressure of oxygen, WBC, hemoglobin, total bilirubin, and cholesterol and mortality was objectified by measuring the AUC, which was of 97.1%, 95.5%, 93.4%, 92.7%, 87.4%, 82.2%, and 79.0%. Conclusions: The usual, easy to use, fast, and cheap tests were useful in predicting mortality in patients with acute pancreatitis. Our study confirmed that the combination of several factors led to an accurate mortality prediction.