Triglyceride and glucose (TyG) index is an effective biomarker to identify severe acute pancreatitis

Background Early diagnosis of severe acute pancreatitis (AP) is important to reduce morbidity and mortality. We investigated the association between the triglyceride and glucose index (TyG index) and the prognosis of severe AP (SAP). Methods The TyG index was calculated as: ln [fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) x fasting plasma glucose (mg/dL)]/2. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the independent association between the TyG index and the severity of AP. Results In this study, 373 patients with AP were recruited from three hospitals. The TyG index was higher in the SAP group than in the non-SAP group. Further, the TyG index was higher than in patients admitted to an intensive care unit and those who died of AP. The TyG index was an independent predictive factor for SAP (odds ratio 7.14, 95% confidence interval 2.80–18.19). The area under the curve increased significantly, from 0.738 to 0.830, after adding the TyG index to a predictive SAP model. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the TyG index is an independent prognostic factor in patients with AP and could be used as a simple prognostic indicator for SAP.