Objective: We applied a meta-analysis to explore the effect 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).
Methods: Various databases were searched based on stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria to extract relevant cohort studies. Comprehensive Meta-analysis 2.0 (Biostat Inc., Englewood, NJ, USA) was applied for statistical analyses.
Results: A total of 113 relevant studies (67 in Chinese, 46 in English) were initially retrieved. Finally, 11 eligible studies were enrolled in our meta-analysis with 399 pancreatitis patients. Meta-analysis results showed that after being treated with UTI, the serum levels of CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α were evidently decreased (CRP: SMD = -2.697, 95% CI = -4.399 ~ -0.994, p = 0.002; IL-6: SMD = -5.268, 95% CI = -9.850 ~ -0.687, p = 0.024; TNF-α: SMD = -5.666, 95% CI = -11.083 ~ -0.249, p = 0.040).
Conclusion: UTI can effectively reduce the serum levels of CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α in Asian patients with AP, suggesting that UTI has anti-inflammatory effect on Asian patients with AP. .