To study the significance of intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) in the severity of gastrointestinal dysfunction and the assessment of disease severity in severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) patients.

From December 2016 to December 2018, thirty-four patients with SAP admitted to Qingdao Eighth People’s Hospital were selected. Levels of serum I-FABP, procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell count were collected at admission. The patients were scored for gastrointestinal dysfunction and Acute Physiological and Chronic Health Status Score Ⅱ (APACHEⅡ). The correlations between serum I-FABP level and the above markers were analyzed.

The concentration of I-FABP at admission was (551±204) ng/L, the PCT concentration was (3.36±1.79) μg/L, the CRP concentration was (171±73) mg/L, and the white blood cell count was (14.47±4.09)×10⁹/L, APACHE score was (12±5), and gastrointestinal function score was (10±2). There was positive correlation among the serum I-FABP concentration and the concentration of PCT, CRP, white blood cell count, APACHEⅡ score, and gastrointestinal function score (P<0.01), and r was 0.537, 0.662, 0.730, 0.716, and 0.686 respectively.

Serum I-FABP is correlated with serum inflammatory markers, APACHE Ⅱ and gastrointestinal function score, which is helpful to evaluating gastrointestinal dysfunction and severity of SAP.