Correlation between ischemia-modified albumin and Ranson score in acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND

Although Ranson score is the most commonly used prognostic model in the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP), ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) has been reported as a novel biomarker of various ischemia-based diseases in recent years. The aim of the present study is to investigate the correlation between Ranson score and IMA in patients with AP.

METHODS

Forty-three patients with AP were included in the study. All patients were classified as mild and severe AP. Plasma IMA level was measured after diagnosis and before treatment. The correlation between IMA level and amylase level, Ranson score, and disease severity was evaluated.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine (67.4%) patients were diagnosed as mild AP; the remaining 14 (32.6%) patients had moderately severe or severe form of disease, and were classified as severe AP. There was no significant difference in the IMA levels between the patient groups (p=0.737). No correlation between IMA levels and amylase levels (p=0.470), Ranson score (p=0.664), and disease severity (p=0.741) was found.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the results from the study, IMA does not seem as a useful marker in earlier prediction of disease severity in AP. Despite important disadvantages, Ranson score still indicates the disease severity more accurately.