Heparin to Prevent Organ Failure in Acute Pancreatitis

Summary

This clinical trial is designed to evaluate whether adding a standard blood-thinning medication, Unfractionated Heparin, to standard hospital care can help prevent severe organ failure in patients admitted with acute pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis is a sudden and severe inflammation of the pancreas. During this condition, intense inflammation can trigger a hypercoagulable state (excessive blood clotting) in the small blood vessels supplying vital organs. This microvascular clotting can block normal blood flow, starving tissues of oxygen and potentially leading to dangerous, life-threatening multi-organ failure involving the lungs, kidneys, or heart. Currently, standard medical care for acute pancreatitis is purely supportive-consisting of intensive intravenous fluid hydration, pain management, and nutritional support-without any specific targeted drug therapy to halt the disease's progression.

In this study, participating patients are randomly assigned into one of two balanced groups using a randomized lottery method upon their admission to the surgical unit:

1. The Control Group: Receives standard supportive hospital medical care only.
2. The Intervention Group: Receives the same standard supportive medical care plus a continuous, carefully monitored intravenous infusion of Unfractionated Heparin.

The primary objective of the study is to determine if early initiation of this standard anticoagulant therapy preserves blood flow, dampens the severe inflammatory cascade, and successfully prevents the development of new or worsening organ failure. The study will also evaluate secondary clinical endpoints, including the total duration of the patient's hospital stay and the general safety profile of the intervention by monitoring for any adverse bleeding complications.

Conditions

• Acute Pancreatitis (AP)

Interventions

DRUG

Unfractionated heparin

* Route: Continuous intravenous (IV) infusion via a calibrated pump or micro-drip controller to maintain stable serum drug levels. * Timing: Initiated within the first 24 hours of hospital admission, immediately following the clinical diagnosis of acute pancreatitis on the surgical ward. * Dosing: Administered as a continuous weight-adjusted maintenance infusion titrated per institutional safety guidelines for non-cardiac anticoagulation. No loading bolus is given. * Duration: Maintained continuously for up to 7 days, or until clinical resolution of symptoms and transition to oral intake. * Monitoring: Regular tracking of Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) and daily clinical screening for signs of bleeding (e.g., hematemesis, melena, epistaxis). * Discontinuation: Immediate termination if a major bleeding event occurs or urgent surgical/radiological intervention is required.

OTHER

Standard supportive care

Standard institutional supportive medical therapy for acute pancreatitis, including intravenous fluid resuscitation (Ringer's Lactate), standardized analgesia for pain management, close clinical monitoring, and early nutritional support. No anticoagulant infusions will be administered.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Allied Hospital Faisalabad

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-06-30

Primary Completion

2026-11-30

Completion

2026-11-30

Countries

• Pakistan