Clinical significance of PCT, CRP, IL-6, NLR, and TyG Index in early diagnosis and severity assessment of acute pancreatitis: A retrospective analysis

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To evaluate the clinical utility of PCT, CRP, IL-6, NLR, and TyG index in improving the early diagnosis and severity assessment of acute pancreatitis (AP). This retrospective study included 137 AP patients and 30 healthy controls from Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital (January 2021–September 2023). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses assessed the associations between biomarkers and severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, DeLong test, and Bonferroni correction were used to evaluate predictive performance. Model robustness was validated via 5-fold cross-validation. PCT, CRP, IL-6, NLR, and TyG index levels were significantly elevated in AP patients compared to controls (P < 0.001) and correlated with disease severity (P < 0.05). CRP and NLR levels differed significantly among mild, moderate, and severe AP (P < 0.01). Alcohol consumption and hyperlipidemia were significantly linked to AP severity (P for trend < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis identified hyperlipidemia (OR = 3.030, P = 0.040), CRP (OR = 1.011, P < 0.001), and NLR (OR = 1.078, P = 0.020) as independent SAP predictors. The combined model of CRP + NLR + TyG achieved the highest AUC (0.882, sensitivity = 77.2%, specificity = 88.5%), though it was not significantly better than CRP + NLR or CRP + TyG models (P > 0.05). 5-fold cross-validation confirmed consistent performance (mean AUC = 0.817 ± 0.118). PCT, CRP, IL-6, NLR, and TyG index are valuable in diagnosing and assessing AP prognosis. Hyperlipidemia, CRP, and NLR are reliable independent predictors of SAP. Combining multiple biomarkers enhances diagnostic precision and provides guidance for personalized treatment strategies in AP.