Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of early enteral nutritional supplementation and somatostatin therapy on gastrointestinal function, serum inflammatory markers and outcomes in patients with severe acute pancreatitis. The study included 84 patients diagnosed with severe intensive care unit acute pancreatitis admitted to our hospital between June 2021 and June 2022. Participants were randomly assigned to either the observation or control group, with 42 patients in each. Within 24 h of intensive care unit admission, the observation group received early enteral feeding suspension and somatostatin treatment, while the control group received early parenteral feeding support and somatostatin therapy. Clinical efficacy, inflammatory markers, gastrointestinal function and outcomes were assessed and compared between the two groups. Prior to treatment, there were no significant differences (p>0.05) in serum levels of transferrin, pre-albumin, amylase, and procalcitonin between the two groups. Following treatment, the observation group showed significantly higher levels of pre-albumin and transferrin compared to the control group. In addition, the observation group had significantly higher levels of interleukin-10 compared to the control group. Although not statistically significant (p<0.05), the experimental group demonstrated lower levels of interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha compared to the control group. Furthermore, the observation group had lower modified Marshall, sequential organ failure assessment and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II scores compared to the control group post-treatment (p<0.05). The incidence of adverse effects was significantly lower in the treatment group (16.67 %) compared to the control group (40.48 %). Early enteral nutritional supplementation and therapy with somatostatin effectively treated severe acute pancreatitis intensive care unit patients, leading to preserved intestinal function, reduced inflammatory response, and improved prognosis.