Abstract
Acute pancreatitis is a common gastrointestinal emergency with diverse clinical manifestations and its severe forms may be life-threatening. The CRP/albumin ratio, a marker reflecting systemic inflammation and nutritional status, may be used to predict the severity of acute pancreatitis.
Objective: To evaluate the predictive value of the C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio for severe acute pancreatitis, as defined by the 2012 Revised Atlanta Classification, by analyzing the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of acute pancreatitis at Thai Nguyen National Hospital.
Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 166 patients with acute pancreatitis at Thai Nguyen National Hospital.
Results: According to the revised Atlanta classification, 40 patients (24.1%) were classified as having severe AP, while 91 patients (54.8%) had mild AP and 35 patients (21.1%) had morderate AP. Plasma CRP, albumin level and the CRP/albumin ratio showed good predictive value for the severity of acute pancreatitis, with corresponding AUC values of 0.88, 0.90, and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.82–0.93; 0.85–0.95; and 0.92–0.98, respectively) at the corresponding cut-off points of 200.5 mg/L, 37.3 g/L, and 5.11, the sensitivity and specificity were 84.1% and 81.9%; 82.5% and 89.9%; 88.1% and 87.9%, respectively.
Conclusion: CRP, albumin level and the CRP/albumin ratio are useful indicators for predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis.