Increased peritoneal permeability in acute experimental pancreatitis.

The peritoneal permeability to differently sized dextran molecules; Mw 4,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 40,000 was investigated in rats with bile-induced acute pancreatitis. Following intraperitoneal deposition, repeated blood samples for measurement of the different dextrans were collected. The results showed increased peritoneal permeability to molecules between 4,000-20,000 daltons in animals with pancreatitis, whereas there was no significant difference for molecules of 40,000 daltons compared to healthy control animals. Also, the passage of phospholipase A2 (Mw 14,000) over the peritoneal membrane was increased during pancreatitis. It is suggested that the transperitoneal route may be of pathophysiological importance in the development of the systemic components of severe acute pancreatitis.