HEPATOCYTE GROWTH-FACTOR IN ASSESSMENT OF ACUTE-PANCREATITIS - COMPARISON WITH C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AND INTERLEUKIN-6

Serum levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), C-reactive protein (CR P), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined at the time of admission in 38 patients with acute pancreatitis. The clinical utility of HGF fo r the detection of severe pancreatitis and for predicting prognosis, b acterial infection (infected pancreatic necrosis or sepsis), and organ dysfunction (liver, kidney, and lung) during the clinical course of a cute pancreatitis was compared with the clinical utility df CRP and IL -6 by analysis of receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. The o ptimum cutoff levels of HGF for severity, prognosis, infection, hepati c dysfunction, renal dysfunction, and respiratory dysfunction were 0.9 , 1.1, 1.0, 1.1, 1.1, and 1.0ng/ml, respectively. HGF was as useful as CRP and more useful than IL-6 for detection of severe pancreatitis an d for predicting hepatic dysfunction. Moreover, HGF was more useful th an CRP or IL-6 for predicting prognosis, renal dysfunction, and respir atory dysfunction. However, for predicting infection, CRP was more use ful than HGF. These results suggest that serum HGF levels on admission may be a useful new clinical parameter for determining the prognosis of acute pancreatitis and that HGF may be closely related to the organ dysfunction of acute pancreatitis.