Objectives: Despite a lack of evidence, gabexate mesylate (GM) is routinely used for the treatment of acute pancreatitis (AP) in some countries. The present study examined the effect and cost of GM for AP treatment using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database.
Methods: We performed a propensity score analysis to compare inhospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and total costs between patients with AP treated with GM and those without GM in 2010.
Results: We identified 2483 patients treated with GM and 890 patients without GM. Overall, 77% of the patients treated with GM were nonsevere AP cases. The propensity-matched 707 pairs showed no significant difference between GM users and nonusers in inhospital mortality or median length of stay in nonsevere AP (1.0% vs 1.2%, P = 0.789; 10 vs 10 days, P = 0.160) and severe AP (8.4% vs 5.0%, P = 0.438; 12 vs 14 days, P = 0.487) cases. Total costs were significantly different between the GM users and the nonusers in nonsevere AP cases (US$4982 vs US$4373, P < 0.001), but not in severe AP cases ($6605 vs $6490, P = 0.764).
Conclusions: Using GM for nonsevere AP cannot be justified because of higher costs without significant effects. Gabexate mesylate use is also not justifiable for severe AP because it does not reduce mortality or length of stay.