Comparison Between Procalcitonin (Pct) Estimation and Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography Findings for The Early Prediction of Severity and Morbidity in Acute Pancreatitis

Abstract

Background: Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammation of the pancreas. It is one of the most common diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to tremendous emotional, physical, and financial human burden. It can have severe complications and high mortality despite treatment. Objective: to comparison between procalcitonin (PCT) estimation and contrast enhanced computed tomography findings for the early prediction of severity and morbidity in acute pancreatitis. Method: The present prospective observational study was conducted on either sex of age group 18 to 65 years patients of acute pancreatitis admitted in department of General Surgery in emergency as well as OPD setting with pain in abdomen being diagnosed as a case of acute pancreatitis according to inclusion or exclusion criterion from January-2020 to June-2021were enrolled in this study. Results: Out of a total 30 number of patients 20 (66.7%) were males and 10(33.3%) females.  Mean age of patients was37.77±11.1 years varied from18-to65 years. Etiology for the disease were Gallstone in majority of the cases 19(63.3%).  100% of patients presenting complaints of the disease were abdominal pain and vomiting Abdominal Tenderness as well as Bowel sound were common features in all patients. Mild pancreatitis was diagnosed in24(80.0%) patients, it was Moderate in6(20.0%) patients as noted as per CTSI scoring. The sensitivity & the specificity of Procalcitonin to diagnose severity of acute appendicitis (moderate) were 83.3% & 83.3% respectively, while it’s over all accuracy, was 80.6% respectively, with a cut-off value of ≥1.35 ng/ml. Conclusion: Serum procalcitonin can be a new promising marker to predict the severity and outcome of acute pancreatitis. However, procalcitonin is a nonspecific marker of infection (bacterial/fungal) and sepsis and does not provide particulars about the underlying source of infection