Objective: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the benefit and risk of continuous regional arterial infusion (CRAI) of protease inhibitors (CRAIpis) in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) or acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP).
Methods: The search was performed using the key words "pancreatitis" and "regional arterial infusion." All language studies involving adult cases of SAP or ANP, which assessed the impact of the CRAIpis, were included.
Results: Our analysis included 8 observational studies and 2 RCTs from 376 potentially relevant articles. With regard to the observational studies, the CRAIpi was significantly associated with decreased both mortality (odds ratio, 0.40; 95% confidential interval [CI], 0.25-0.64; P = 0.0001) and the need for urgent surgical intervention (odds ratio, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.12-0.3; P < 0.0001). In the RCTs, the application of CRAIpi tends to decrease the mortality but does not reach the significance (risk reduction, -0.12; 95% CI, -0.36-0.12; P = 0.33).
Conclusions: The CRAIpi has the potential to reduce the mortality or the need for urgent surgical intervention in cases of SAP or ANP. Further, large multicenter trials are needed to refute or confirm our findings.