A practical means of evaluating the prognosis of acute pancreatitis : measurement of carotid artery intima-media thickness

Background and study aims Factors such as age, obesity, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia that cause adverse prognosis in acute pancreatitis also cause an increase in carotid intima-media thickness. In this study, we aimed to investigate the usability of the measurement of carotid intima-media thickness, which is an easy to apply, cost-effective means of measurement applied to the patients, in predicting AP prognosis, apart from the criteria currently utilized to predict AP prognosis. Patients and methods 101 patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis were prospectively enrolled into the study. Right and left common carotid artery intima-media thickness, right and left internal carotid artery intima-media thickness were measured with ultrasonographic images performed within the first 24 hours of hospitalization. local or systemic complications and organ failure development were monitored in the follow-up of the patients. Results After the ROC analysis was performed and the threshold value was determined. The patients with main and internal carotid artery intima-media thickness above 0.775 mm were seen to have a more severe AP (p = 0.000). Local and systemic complications and organ failure were also more common in these patients. Conclusions Measurement of carotid intima-media thickness is a non-invasive method that can be used to predict the prognosis in patients with acute pancreatitis at presentation.