Increased hemoglobin-oxygen affinity in patients with pancreatitis associated with type I and V hyperlipoproteinemia.

Oxyhemoglobin dissociation curves were performed from blood of subjects with pancreatitis associated with Type V and Type I hyperlipoproteinemia. The hemoglobin-oxygen affininty was markedly increased with P50 varying from 22.3 to 17.7 mmHg. As the hyperlipoproteinemia subsided the clinical and laboratory signs of pancreatic affection disappeared. The increased hemoglobin-oxygen affinity and decreased flow of red cells due to hyperchylomicronemia in the microcirculation may lead to tissue hypoxia, which may act as a precipitating injurious factor leading to pancreatitis during severe hyperlipemia.