Simple Blood Test Before Surgery Predicts Dangerous Pancreatic Leak Risk

A retrospective study in PLOS One suggests that a simple preoperative blood test can help predict the risk of a dangerous pancreatic leak after distal pancreatectomy, where the left portion of the pancreas is removed. Conducted by Shiwei Wu of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University and colleagues, the research focused on clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF) graded B or C under the 2016 International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery criteria. Analyzing 300 consecutive patients treated between June 2022 and June 2024, the study found clinically significant fistula in 84 patients (28%). Most were Grade B leaks (81, or 96.4%), with the remaining three cases Grade C. The C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) outperformed an existing risk model, improving discrimination to excellent performance.