Serum isoamylase measurements in pancreatitis complicating chronic renal failure

This investigation was designed to determine whether serum isoamylase measurements can aid in establishing the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis in renal failure patients. Twenty-two hemodialysis patients were studied, four of whom had documented acute pancreatitis. Total serum amylase and pancreatic isoamylase concentrations were significantly higher (p < 0.02) in the pancreatitis patients than in the 18 patients without pancreatitis, but there was appreciable overlap between these two groups. In each of the four patients with pancreatitis, the percentage of serum amylase derived from the pancreas (range, 80% to 90%) was well above the highest value (67%) observed in the patients without pancreatitis. These results suggest that determination of the percentage of serum amylase represented by pancreatic isoamylase is of assistance in establishing the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis in renal failure patients.