A simple screening test for acute pancreatitis

A urinary test strip for amylase (Rapignost-Amylase) was compared with plasma amylase assay in samples of urine and plasma collected on the day of admission to hospital from 23 patients with acute pancreatitis and 38 patients with other causes of acute abdominal pain. Plasma amylase was greater than 1200 IU/l in 24 patients (23 with pancreatitis and 1 with a perforated duodenal ulcer) and all were Rapignost-Amylase positive. Twenty-nine of the remaining patients were Rapignost-Amylase negative, but there were eight "false positives' with plasma amylase levels of 86-474 IU/l. The Rapignost-Amylase test is of potential value to screen for clinically occult acute pancreatitis.