OBJECTIVETo explore the preventive effect of Qingyi Decoction (QYD) on post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis and hyperamylasemia.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty-five patients scheduled to receive ERCP were randomized by the digital table into three groups, two were medicated respectively with QYD (39 cases) and octreotide (42 cases), the other one was untreated for control (44 cases). Changes of blood levels of amylase, C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-10 (IL-10), as well as the incidence of pancreatitis and hyperamylasemia was observed and compared.

RESULTSThe 4 h and 24 h post-operational blood amylase (U/L) was 132.03 +/- 75.29 and 153.15 +/- 78.69 in the QYD group, and 134.74 +/- 22.24 and 148.50 +/- 79.37 in the octreotide group, all were significantly lower than those in the control group (241.27 +/- 137.04 and 286.89 +/- 133.77), respectively. The 24 h CRP (mg/L) in both QYD and octreotide group (11.05 +/- 3.57 and 12.48 +/- 3.80) was also lower than that in the control group (17.70 +/- 4.93, P < 0.05), while the 24 h IL-10 (ng/L) in the QYD group (105.00 +/- 31.85) was higher than that in the octreotide group (77.98 +/- 33.13) and the control group (75.98 +/- 30.99) respectively. The incidence of pancreatitis in the QYD, octreotide, and the control group was 2.6%, 0 and 11.4%, that of hyperamylasemia in them 28.2%, 21.4%, and 56.8%, respectively. The occurrence rate of hyperamylasemia was lower in the QYD group and the octreotide group than in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONQYD could lower CRP and up-regulate IL-10 level, restrain the inflammation reaction and reduce the blood amylase level in the post-ERCP period, thus reducing the incidence of hyperamylasemia.