[Changes of urinary ulinastatin and serum CRP after elective surgery for gastric cancer]

Urinary ulinastatin (UTI) is elevated in various conditions, such as renal disease, myocardial infarction, neoplasm, leukemia and normal pregnancy. The purpose of the present study is to measure the change of UTI after surgery for gastric cancer and to compare with other acute phase reactants. Urine samples were collected from 7 surgical patients. UTI level was measured by radioimmunoassay and corrected by urinary level of creatinine. UTI levels began to increase from the first postoperative day and reached the maximum level on the third postoperative day. The pattern of UTI correlated with that of serum CRP levels. Meanwhile, when patient was in inflammatory condition postoperatively, UTI increased further and its pattern correlated with that of serum CRP levels. These results suggest that UTI is an acute phase reactant and a sensitive marker indicating the degree of inflammatory condition after surgery.