Intensive care medicine
-
Intensive care medicine · Aug 1997
Elevated plasma levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (sTNFRp60) reflect severity of acute pancreatitis.
To investigate the role of activated leukocytes in acute pancreatitis, we measured soluble receptors of tumour necrosis factor alpha (sTNFR, p60 subtype) in plasma and evaluated the association of sTNFR with the clinical severity of the disease. ⋯ The p60 subtype of soluble TNFR is elevated in the plasma of patients with clinically severe acute pancreatitis. This elevation is positively correlated to abnormalities in physiological parameters, development of MOF, and mortality. The association with pancreatic necrosis suggests that, by mediating the effects of TNF, TNFRp60 reflects inflammatory tissue damage leading to severe systemic complications.