Outcomes
death, lung injury, pain, organ failure, sepsis
EVENT, RENAL FAILURE, SECONDARY, ACUTE PANCREATITIS, SEPSIS, COMPLICATIONS, INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE
The primary endpoint was the number of ventilator-free days from randomization to day 30, as defined as the number of days from randomization to day 30 after randomization during which a patient was able to breathe without invasive assistance. Patients who had died by day 30 were considered to have zero ventilator-free days. Although unusual in acute pancreatitis research, ventilator-free days are frequently used in critical care trials as it can reflect the need for intubation and the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation when needed, while accounting for death as a competing event [Predefined secondary endpoints included: the incidence of various complications at day 30 (including death, sepsis, organ failure, and abdominal complications); the duration of mechanical ventilation (invasive and noninvasive); symptoms of intolerance to enteral feeding; effectiveness of pain management, biological markers of inflammatory response, lung injury, and renal failure; and duration of epidural analgesia therapy. Cost analysis was unfortunately unavailable for this report.