Influence of Somatostatin on Acute Pancreatitis in Rats

Objective: To assess the effect of two regimens of somatostatin on the morbidity and short term outcome of acute pancreatitis in rats. Design: Randomised laboratory study. Setting: Teaching hospital, France. Animals: 24 male Wistar rats. Interventions: Rats were randomised to 3 groups of 8, 2 of which were given somatostatin (one 25 μg/kg/hour by continous infusion and one as a bolus injection of 5 μg before the infusion of 25 μg/kg/hour); the third (control) group was given 0.9% of saline 25 μg/kg/hour. Acute pancreatitis was induced by ligating the pancreatic duct at the junction with the duodenum. Main outcome measures: Serum amylase and lipase activities at 2 and 4 hours, and histological changes after 4 hours, at which time the animals were killed and the pancreas removed. Results: Amylase and lipase activities were significantly lower in the somatostatin groups than in the control group throughout the experiment (p < 0.001). They were slightly but not significantly lower in the bolus group than the infusion group. The degree of necrosis and the extent of inflammatory infiltration were significantly less in the somatostatin groups (p < 0.008). Conclusion: Somatostatin has an early favourable effect on the course of experimentally induced pancreatitis in rats.