Serum elastase I levels in pancreatic disease.

The radioimmunoassay for human elastase I used in this study is accurate, sensitive, and specific, which we have confirmed. The assay can be done within 4 hours, which is important for clinical purposes. A total o 103 subjects were examined, and levels of 99 to 370 ng/dl (mean 200) in normal human sera were determined. The serum elastase levels in acute, acute relapsing, and chronic relapsing pancreatitis were significantly higher than normal. Although serial determinations returned to normal within 5 days after the onset of the attack, they decreased gradually and remained high on the 7th, 10th, and 11th days in patients who still had residual signs of pancreatitis. The values in patients with chronic pancreatitis and various other diseases were normal. The values in patients with acute pancreatitis were significantly higher than in those with hyperamylasemia of nonpancreatic origin. Twelve of 19 patients with pancreatic cancer had abnormal serum elastase levels; this was especially true in patients with cancer of the pancreatic head. We believe that the measurement of serum elastase levels by radioimmunoassay will become a useful diagnostic method for pancreatic disease in the future.