[The effectiveness of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy using microencapsulated pancreatin preparations in the correction of nutritional status in patients with chronic pancreatitis: a prospective observational study].

AIM: The goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) using microencapsulated pancreatin preparations for the correction of nutritional status in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) and associated exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 58 patients with CP who were divided into two groups depending on the results of a laboratory assessment of indicators of nutritional status: group I (n=30) consisted of patients with CP and signs of EPI (according to low elastase test values) without deviations in nutritional status; Group II (n=28) consisted of patients with CP with a EPI and an abnormal nutritional status. In both groups, patients during the entire observation period (8-12 months) received PERT using microencapsulated pancreatin preparations at a dose adjusted for the severity of permanent residence permit. Before and after the PERT course, the dynamics of anthropometric [body weight, body mass index (BMI)] and laboratory indicators of nutritional status (total protein, albumin, vitamins D and B12, transferrin, iron and magnesium) were evaluated. RESULTS: After the completion of PERT, a significant tendency towards an increase in BMI in patients was noted in both groups. In group I, this indicator increased from 21.45 [95% confidence interval (CI) 19.80-23.92] kg/m2 to 22.15 (95% CI 20.31-23.86) kg/m2, and in II group - from 19.22 (95% CI 18.33-21.99) kg/m2 to 22.0 (95% CI 19.97-24.08) kg/m2. At the same time, the duration of PERT (months) significantly correlated with the dynamics of the patient's body weight (r=0.4679; 95% CI 0.2384-0.6479, p=0.0002). When assessing laboratory markers of nutritional status after PERT, a general tendency was found to increase the levels of total protein, albumin, vitamin D, magnesium, transferrin, and iron in both groups, however, statistically significant differences in the dynamics were observed mainly in group II patients. So, the level of total protein in group II increased from 69.05 (95% CI 65.6717-70.9000) g/l to 72.8 (95% CI 71.1358-74.9000) g/l, vitamin D - from 10.6 (95% CI 32.8397-38.9603) ng/ml to 17.1 (95% CI 12.0166-23.6232) ng/ml, magnesium - from 0.72 ( 95% CI 0.6892-0.7825) mmol/L to 0.795 (95% CI 0.7692-0.8800) mmol/L, and transferrin from 2.91 (95% CI 2.1800-3.3656 ) g/l to 2.92 (95% CI 2.4000-3.5200) g/l. CONCLUSION: A prospective observational study demonstrated the effectiveness of PERT using microencapsulated pancreatin preparations in the correction of nutritional status in patients with CP.

[Nutritional status in patients with chronic pancreatitis].

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas, accompanied by damage to the functioning parenchyma and ducts to develop irreversible structural changes (fibrosis, calcification) and irreparable loss of the endocrine and exocrine functions of this organ. Maldigestion is a typical outcome of CP of any etiology with a long-term history. Fat malabsorption is considered as a basis for malnutrition in patients with CP. The severity of malnutrition in patients with CP correlates with three major pathogenetic factors: primary nutrient deficiency, pancreatic maldigestion and secondary malabsorption syndrome (nutrient loss), hypermetabolism that is caused by an inflammatory process in the pancreas and that determines the severity of the disease. Malnutrition in patients with CP is not just a complication of this disease, but has an important impact on its course. Patients with severe malnutrition are noted to have the significantly lower activity of pancreatic enzymes in the duodenal contents, feces, and blood, which is correlated with the smaller blood amount of total protein and albumin.