Blood Purification for Hypertriglyceridemia-Induced Acute Pancreatitis

Objectives The purpose of our study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of blood purification (BP) therapy in hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases for articles published. Results The analysis included 13 studies with 934 patients (263 in BP group, 671 in control group). There was no difference in efficacy and safety between the BP group and the control group (all P > 0.05). Compared with conventional treatment, BP had shorter hospital stay (mean difference, −4.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], −8.81 to −1.11; P = 0.01) in the case of similar mortality and complications. Meanwhile, insulin treatment showed similar mortality to BP, but fewer local complications (odds risk, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.13–4.20; P = 0.02) and shorter hospital stay (mean difference, 5.46; 95% CI, 0.64–10.29; P = 0.03). Conclusions In the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis, BP methods are effective in accelerating triglyceride level reduction and shortening hospital stay but do not affect the efficacy or reduce mortality significantly compared with conventional treatment. Insulin therapy has the same effect as BP but decreases incidence of complications and cost.