Pancreas
Am J Gastroenterol. 2023;118(12):2258–66
Lactated Ringer’s use in the first 24 hours of hospitalization is associated with improved outcomes in 999 patients with acute pancreatitis
Introduction: Recent pilot trials in acute pancreatitis (AP) found that lactated Ringer’s (LR) usage may result in decreased risk of moderately severe/severe AP compared with normal saline, but their small sample sizes limit statistical power. The authors investigated whether LR usage is associated with improved outcomes in AP in an international multicenter prospective study.
Methods: Patients directly admitted with the diagnosis of AP were prospectively enrolled at 22 international sites between 2015 and 2018. Demographics, fluid administration, and AP severity data were collected in a standardized prospective manner to examine the association between LR and AP severity outcomes. Mixed-effects logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the direction and magnitude of the relationship between the type of fluid administered during the first 24 hours and the development of moderately severe/severe AP.
Results: Data from 999 patients were analyzed (mean age, 51 years, female 52%, moderately severe/severe AP 24%). Usage of LR during the first 24 hours was associated with reduced odds of moderately severe/severe AP (adjusted odds ratio = 0.52; p = 0.014) compared with normal saline after adjusting for region of enrollment, etiology, body mass index, and fluid volume and accounting for the variation across centers. Similar results were observed in sensitivity analyses eliminating the effects of admission organ failure, etiology, and excessive total fluid volume.
Discussion: Lactated Ringer’s administration in the first 24 hours of hospitalization was associated with improved acute pancreatitis severity. A large-scale randomized clinical trial is needed to confirm these findings.