RESUMO
Objective To investigate the serum copeptin level in patients with acute pancreatitis and explore its clinical significance. Methods Sixty-three patients with acute pancreatitis were enrolled , 35 of which were diagnosed as mild acute pancreatitis (MAP), and the other 28 patients were diagnosed as severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Serum copeptin levels of all patients were determined on admission , on the second day and the third day after admission, respectively. Thirty healthy subjects were enrolled as the control group. Results Serum copeptin level was obviously higher in patients with SAP than the healthy individuals (P < 0.05), and was also significantly higher in the SAP patients than in the MAP patients (P < 0.05). Moreover, the serum copeptin level in SAP patients was highly associated with mortality and local complication (P < 0.01). Conclusion Serum copeptin level was increased at the early stage of acute pancreatitis and was associated with disease severity, which made it a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for acute pancreatitis.
