The utilization of serum thrombopoietin levels as an early biomarker in determining severe acute biliary pancreatitis.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of thrombopoietin (TPO), a growth factor and acute-phase reactant, as an early prognostic marker for predicting disease severity in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis.

Methods: A total of 72 patients with acute pancreatitis admitted to the Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, General Surgery Department, were included in the study. The severity of acute pancreatitis was classified using the 2012 Revised Atlanta Classification, and blood samples were collected from each patient within the first six hours of hospitalization to measure TPO levels. TPO levels were then compared to C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and other prognostic scoring systems.

Results: According to the Atlanta Classification, TPO levels were found to be statistically significant in distinguishing severe pancreatitis from moderate and mild cases. When evaluating the sensitivity and specificity ratios of serum TPO levels in predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis, a value of 81.61 pg/dL was identified, with a 86.6% sensitivity and 69% specificity. In our study, the accuracy of TPO levels in detecting severe pancreatitis was compared with other scoring systems. The Balthazar scoring system had the highest precision (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.905) in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for severe pancreatitis (95% confidence interval). Serum TPO levels were identified as the second strongest predictors of severe acute pancreatitis (AUC: 0.831).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that TPO is a valuable early marker and prognostic indicator for predicting disease severity in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis. However, further randomized studies with larger patient cohorts are still required.