Objective To investigate therapeutic effects of continous regional arterial infusion with verapamil on preventing the progression of acute pancreatitis. Methods Forty-five patients with mild acute pancreatitis were randomly divided into three groups: conventional treatment group, intravenous treatment group and arterial infusion group. After admission, conventional treatments were performed in conventional treatment group. Reasonable fluid and verapamil were intravenously injected to the patients in intravenous treatment group, and fluid treatments and continous regional arterial infusion with verapamil were performed in arterial infusion group for 1－2 weeks. The levels of serum TNF-α, IL-1β, ICAM-1 and P-selectin were determined on the 1st, 4th and 7th day after treatment, respectively. Results On the 4th and 7th day after treatment, the levels of serum TNF-α and P-selectin significantly decreased in arterial infusion group compared with the other two groups （P＜0.05）, while the level of serum IL-1β significantly decreased in arterial infusion group and intravenous treatment group compared with the conventional treatment group （P＜0.05）. The level of serum ICAM-1 significantly decreased in arterial infusion group compared with the conventional treatment group （P＜0.05）.Conclusion Continous regional arterial infusion with verapamil could reduce the production of inflammatory cytokines and inhibit the up-regulation of adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and P-selectin, and prevent the progression of acute pancreatitis ultimately.
