Objectives: Oxidative stress is an important event in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis. Superoxide dismutase is a major antioxidant enzyme in the body. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in superoxide dismutase activity early in the onset of acute pancreatitis and its value in predicting the risk of organ failure and mortality.
Methods: Data for 2549 patients hospitalized from 2013 to 2017 were extracted from the prospective database, and we selected 854 adult patients who were admitted within 24 h of disease onset with complete data. Serum superoxide dismutase activities on the first, second, and third days of hospital admission for patients with different severities, organ failure, and mortality were compared. The areas under the curve for the prediction of organ failure, pancreatic necrosis, and mortality were estimated using receiver operating characteristic curves.
Results: Among the 854 adult patients, superoxide dismutase activities were significantly different among patients with mild acute pancreatitis, moderately severe acute pancreatitis, and severe acute pancreatitis (P = 0.005). Superoxide dismutase activity was significantly decreased in patients with persistent renal failure (77.8 ± 37.2), persistent circulatory failure (66.2 ± 14.9), and mortality (64.3 ± 16.0). The accuracy of superoxide dismutase with regard to predicting persistent circulatory failure and mortality was high, and the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.83 and 0.84, respectively.
Conclusions: Superoxide dismutase activity was negatively correlated with the severity and clinical outcome of AP. Superoxide dismutase activity is highly accurate at predicting persistent circulation failure and mortality in the early stage of AP.
Keywords: Acute pancreatitis; Mortality; Persistent circulation failure; Superoxide dismutase.