Clinical study on treatment of severe acute pancreatitis with combination of somatostatin and growth hormone

Objective To evaluate the curative effect of combined treatment with somatostatin (ST) and growth hormone (GH) in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Methods Thirty two patients of SAP with an average APACHE Ⅱ score of 12±1 6 were enrolled in this prospective study and divided randomly into a ST treatment group (n=11), a combined ST+GH treatment group (n=10) and a nontreatment control group (n=11). The changes in serum IL 1, IL 6 and TNFα levels after treatment and the incidence of complication, the duration of hospital stay, cost, blood inflammatory cytokines and albumin were compared among these groups. Results The duration of hospital stay was significantly shorter in the combined treatment group than that in the control group (P0 05). The reduction of SAP by treatment with combination of somatostatin and growth hormone was associated with reduction of incidence of complications and marked increase in survival rate. The combined treatment could also inhibit the overexpression of inflammation mediators, correct hypoalbuminemia, and reasonably intervene SIRS caused by SAP. Conclusions This is the first report confirming that the combined treatment with somatostatin and growth hormone could prevent damage of multiple organs in SAP. It is suggested that the combined somatostatin and growth hormone therapy be a new approach for treatment of SAP.