Abstract

Serum Amylase and Lipase Concentrations in Patients with Acute Pancreatitis Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital of National Medical College and Teaching Hospital

Surendra Marasini, Sanjay Kumar Sah, Suprita Gupta, Anup Shamsher Budhathoki, Nirdhan Yadav

Background: Acute pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas. The causes of acute pancreatitis include alcohol consumption, gall stones, and other metabolic factors. The diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is made based on epigastric pain radiating to the back, the elevation of pancreatic amylase and pancreatic lipase activity in serum, and supportive radiological findings.

Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted in the tertiary care hospital of National Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Birgunj, Nepal. Two hundred and fifty-six patients who had undergone their amylase and lipase from clinical laboratory services were enrolled for the study.

Results: Our results showed the pattern of elevation of serum amylase and lipase in patients with acute pancreatitis. Both amylase and lipase were elevated in 23.43% of patients. ROC curve revealed the area under the curve of lipase was 0.99 (P-value: 0.00) and for amylase was 0.90 (P-value: 0.03). The mean rank of amylase for acute pancreatitis was 196.77 and for lipase was 202.30 which was a statistically significant difference from the control group (P-value: 0.01).

Conclusion: Our study revealed that lipase can give better diagnostic value in comparison to serum amylase for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. However, both serum amylase, as well as lipase measurement, can be done simultaneously instead of amylase only for a better diagnosis.

Published Date: 2022-04-14; Received Date: 2022-03-14