Vijayakumar K. Karikkili1, Arun Damodharan2, Divya Devi H3, Swaminathan Ganesan4
BACKGROUND
In India, pancreatitis seems to be more common among alcoholics. Being a developing nation, most of the affected families live in poverty. So, the hospital expenses in treatment of pancreatitis are a burden to them. Many investigations are required for calculating the severity scoring systems will increase the patient's cost. In order to predict the severity of the disease earlier, a simple scoring system is evaluated using routine blood count which will enable us to provide aggressive treatment for those progressing to severe pancreatitis and lower the morbidity and mortality.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A prospective collection of data among 100 sequential patients admitted with a diagnosis of pancreatitis based on Atlanta criteria are enrolled and data collected for severity, amylase, lipase, CECT, serum creatinine, and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio, at the time of admission, 24 hours, 48 hours and analyzed using independent variable t test.
RESULTS
Out of 100 patients 96% were males, alcohol was the leading cause 98%, severe pancreatitis was noted in 20% mortality was 4%, NLR was progressively increasing from 12 to 15 in severe group compared to 4 to 6 in mild group the difference was significant (p value – 0.004).
CONCLUSION
The overall mortality due to acute pancreatitis has remained 10-15% in the past 20 years. Accurate predictors of the severity of acute pancreatitis are important because they influence clinical decision making. Neutrophilic Lymphocytic Ratio (NLR) was calculated among these patients and was found to be increased in acute pancreatitis. It was significantly higher in severe pancreatitis patients than the mild pancreatitis patients. It is thus a cost effective tool. NL R is a simple indicator of the prognosis of pancreatitis which would help in providing aggressive treatment to those patients progressing to severe pancreatitis.
