title: A Meta-analysis on the Effect of Ulinastatin on Serum Levels of C-Reactive Protein, Interleukin 6, and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha in Asian Patients with Acute Pancreatitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to investigate the influence of ulinastatin (UTI) on the serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in Asian patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) by performance of a meta-analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two investigators independently searched 11 databases, including PUBMED, EBSCO, Ovid, SpringerLink, Wiley, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Journal Full-text Database, and China Biomedicine Database. The full-text articles were screened and the data were extracted using a standardized data extraction form. All statistical analyses were conducted with Stata software, version 12.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 94 studies were initially retrieved, and 10 studies containing 424 Asian patients with AP were ultimately enrolled in this meta-analysis. The results revealed that the serum levels of CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α in Asian AP patients significantly decreased after UTI therapy (CRP: standardized mean difference [SMD] = 3.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.69-4.83, p < 0.001; IL-6: SMD = 5.92, 95% CI = 2.09-9.75, p = 0.002; TNF-α: SMD = 4.07, 95% CI = 0.79-7.35, p = 0.015).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this meta-analysis suggest that UTI can effectively depress the serum levels of CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α in Asian patients with AP, and thereby inhibit inflammation.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Colorectal Surgery, Tianjin Union Medicine Centre , Tianjin, P.R. China .
authors.forename: Chunze
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Pathology, Tianjin Union Medicine Centre , Tianjin, P.R. China .
authors.forename: Yijia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Colorectal Surgery, Tianjin Union Medicine Centre , Tianjin, P.R. China .
authors.forename: Wenzheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Colorectal Surgery, Tianjin Union Medicine Centre , Tianjin, P.R. China .
authors.forename: Weihua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Colorectal Surgery, Tianjin Union Medicine Centre , Tianjin, P.R. China .
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Colorectal Surgery, Tianjin Union Medicine Centre , Tianjin, P.R. China .
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D044466:Asian People; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D002681:China; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014361:Trypsin Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014361:Trypsin Inhibitors; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; C028665:urinastatin