Fresh frozen plasma therapy in acute pancreatitis: an experimental study.

Fresh frozen plasma therapy was assessed in a rat model of acute haemorrhagic pancreatitis incorporating the facility for continuous intravenous infusion in the unrestrained animal. Infusions including fresh frozen plasma were shown to significantly improve 72 h survival in the model compared to crystalloid (P less than 0.001) and colloid (P less than 0.05) control groups. The mechanism of this improved survival has yet to be elucidated, but this work supports the establishment of a controlled clinical trial of fresh frozen plasma therapy in this disease.