Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase Is a Sensitive Predictor of Systemic Complications of Acute Pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common and potentially life-threatening inflammatory disease that can cause various complications, including systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), pleural effusion, ascitic fluid, myocardial infarction, and acute kidney injury (AKI). However, there is still a lack of rapid and effective indicators to assess the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of high serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels with AP severity and systemic complications.

AP patients treated from July 2014 to December 2020 were retrospectively enrolled. They were divided into elevated (n = 93) and normal (n = 143) LDH groups. Their demographic data, clinical data, hospital duration, and hospital expenses were analyzed. Linear and binary logistic regression analyses were used to determine whether elevated LDH is a risk factor for AP severity and complications after adjusting for confounders.

There were significant differences in AP severity scores (Ranson, MODS, BISAP, APACHE II, and CTSI), hospital duration, hospital expenses, and the incidences of complications (SIRS, pleural effusion, ascitic fluid, myocardial infarction, and AKI) between the elevated and normal LDH groups. After adjusting for confounders, elevated LDH was associated with AP severity scores and hospital duration and expenses (based on linear regression analyses) and was a risk factor for the occurrence of AP complications and interventions, that is, diuretic and vasoactive agent use (based on binary logistic regression analyses).

Elevated LDH is associated with high AP severity scores and high incidences of complications (SIRS, pleural effusion, ascitic fluid, myocardial infarction, and AKI).