Is carbohydrates-deficient transferrin the best test of the alcoholic etiology in acute pancreatitis?
OBJECTIVE
To demonstrate if carbohydrates deficient transferrin (CDT) is the best marker to detect an excessive alcohol consumption as a cause of acute pancreatitis.


METHODS
Prospective study of 60 patients consecutively admitted in our hospital. Acute pancreatitis were classified according to their different etiologies, alcoholic (11), probably alcoholic (4), biliary (25) and others (20). In all cases, we have compared CDT with classical quemical markers of alcohol abuse such as mean corpuscular volumen (MCV), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and aspartateaminotransferase (AST). Statistic correlations were done between the quantity of alcohol consumed and CDT, GGT, AST and MCV variables.


RESULTS
Correlation between CDT and MCV with the excessive alcohol consumption was statistically significant. The acute pancreatitis caused by alcohol and the suspicious alcoholic group had a average CDT higher than the rest of the groups (p < 0.05). Taking a cut point with a CDT value of 20, the diagnosis capacity of the test to detect the alcoholic etiology was 82 and 92% of specificity. Taking a cut point with a MCV value higher than 95, sensibility was 67% and specificity was 82%.


CONCLUSIONS
In our experience, the most efficient marker of the alcoholic etiology in acute pancreatitis was CDT.
Basterra
G
G
Digestive Service, Txagorritxu Hospital, Vitoria, Spain. med004970@nacom.es
Casi
M A
MA
Alcorta
P
P
Díaz de Otazu
R
R
Alvarez
M
M
García Campos
F
F
D000208:Acute Disease; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014168:Transferrin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis*
D015415:Biomarkers; D014168:Transferrin; C056759:carbohydrate-deficient transferrin