Fatty liver disease is associated with the severity of acute pancreatitis:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Fatty liver (FL) has been positively associated with the risk of acute pancreatitis (AP), but whether FL is associated with the severity of AP remains unknown. To this, a meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of FL on severity and outcomes of AP. Method We searched PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane library to identify all eligible studies (up to June 2017). We pooled the odds ratios (ORs) or weighted mean differences (WMD) from individual studies using a random-effects model to investigate associations between FL and the prognosis of AP. Result Four studies were included in the meta-analysis, including a total of 805 patients with fatty liver-related acute pancreatitis (FLAP) and 1026 patients with non fatty liver-related acute pancreatitis (NFLAP). The incidences of moderately severe AP (MSAP) (OR = 2.72, 95%CI: 1.82–4.05, P P P P Conclusion Fatty liver is associated with the severity of acute pancreatitis.