Intravenous Insulin Versus Conservative Management in Hypertriglyceridemia-Associated Acute Pancreatitis

Hypertriglyceridemia is implicated in ~5% of cases of acute pancreatitis. It is assumed that intravenous insulin is effective in lowering triglyceride (TG) concentrations in hypertriglyceridemia-associated acute pancreatitis (HAAP). However, the efficacy of intravenous insulin versus conservative management alone is not known.

Charts of 106 patients who were admitted with HAAP and had TG concentrations >1000 mg/dL at admission were reviewed. Patients who received intravenous insulin for at least 8 hours were included in the intravenous insulin group, while the rest were considered to have received conservative management. We compared the change in TG concentrations from baseline in the 2 groups.

Fifty-one patients received intravenous insulin while 55 patients were managed conservatively. Baseline TG concentrations were higher in the intravenous insulin group (median [25th, 75th percentile] 3307 [2106, 4425] mg/dL vs 2304 [1416, 2720] mg/dL; P < 0.001). The TG concentrations declined rapidly in both groups, reaching below 1000 mg/dL by day 3 and < 500 mg/dL by day 4. TG concentrations in the intravenous insulin group had decreased by 69% and 85% on days 2 and 4, respectively. The fall in the conservative management group was 63% and 79%, which was not statistically different than the change in the intravenous insulin group.

Our results show that intravenous insulin did not result in a more rapid fall in TG compared with conservative treatment in patients with HAAP. Fasting and intravenous fluids were effective in lowering TG concentrations rapidly, with no further contribution from insulin.