Of the 23 initial participants, 17 patients responded well to medical therapy and were discharged after a mean 13 days. The remaining 6 patients (2 men and 4 women; mean age 60.8 years, range 27-74) whose clinical conditions failed to improve or worsened after therapy lasting 48 hours all had an Apache click here II score of ≥ 19. These 6 patients underwent emergency laparotomy, 5 for an abdominal compartment syndrome, defined as a susteined intraabdominal pressure about 20 mmHg associated with new organ failure,

and 1 for septic shock. At surgery the anterior pancreatic wall was widely exposed, the capsule fully opened and Kocher’s maneuver was used to mobilize the pancreatic head and body anteriorly. The pancreatic body and tail were then manually freed starting from the Treitz ligament. Eventual necrotic tissue and fluid collections were sampled for microbiological cultures and removed. Patients with acute biliary pancreatitis underwent cholecystectomy and a biliary drain was placed

through the cystic duct. To allow complete lavage, Verubecestat ic50 drains were placed close to the anterior and posterior pancreatic walls, in the paracolic gutters and pelvis. A lavage solution containing 6 to 8 liters of normal saline and gabexate mesilate (1000 mg) was perfused through the drains every 24 hours for at least 7 days. After surgery all six patients were admitted to the ICU and Bcl-w CVVDH was started within 12 hours. For vascular access, a double coaxial lumen 14-Fr catheter was inserted Selleckchem Metabolism inhibitor percutaneously through the right internal jugular or femoral vein using the Seldinger technique. A Baxter BM25 system (Baxter, USA) was

used for CVVDH with a polyacrylonitrile NA69 hemofilter (1.2 m2surface area, 35-kD limit; Hospal, USA). Blood flow was set at 50-75 ml/min and ultrafiltrate flow at 1000 ml/h, transmembrane pressure was maintained between 450-460 mmHg, and the replacement fluid was pre-diluted and infused. Low-molecular-weight heparin was used as the anticoagulant, patient-activated clotting time was adjusted to 60-70 seconds, and a strictly neutral balance was maintained using a digital balance system (Baxter). CVVDH was maintained for a mean 6 days (range 3-8). The AN69 hemofilter (1.2 m2) was changed every 24 hours. Samples for measuring cytokine concentrations were collected from serum at admission (T0) and 48 hours later (T48). After surgery, samples were taken also from peritoneal lavage fluid and hemofiltrate on postoperative days I, IV, VII, and XIV. The last sample was collected when CVVDH ended. IL-6 and TNF were assayed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit using the quantitative immunoenzymatic sandwich method.