Objective      To determine the effect of percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) on pancreatic injury of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) rats and its significance.       Methods      Sixty Wistar rats were equally randomized into 3 groups

sham-operation group

SAP model group and PCD group. Acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis was induced in rats by injecting 5% sodium taurocholate (2 mL/h

0.1 mL/100 g) into the common biliopancreatic duct. Rats in each group were then divided into 2 subgroups

which were killed in 6 and 24 h after operation (n=10). The levels of TNF-α

IL-1β

amylase

tryptase in the serum samples and ascites were measured in the 6th and 24th hour postoperatively. Apoptosis of the pancreatic cells were examined by TUNEL assay. The expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in the pancreatic tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry

and pancreatic pathological changes were also observed.       Results       The serum levels of TNF-α

IL-1β and amylase were significantly higher in SAP group than sham-operation group (P0.05). PCD treatment resulted in significant decreases in the serum and ascitic levels of inflammatory cytokines and amylase (P0.05). Histopathological results revealed that PCD treatment alleviated the pancreatic injury in the SAP rats. TUNEL staining indicated that the apoptosis index of pancreatic cells in the PCD rats were higher than that in the SAP model rats（24 h after operation：14.6±2.1 vs 2.7±1.5，P0.05）. Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of Bcl-2 was decreased （24 h after operation：10.81±2.16 vs 28.45±5.41，P0.05） and that of Bax was increased（24 h after operation：23.17±4.39 vs 9.64±1.85，P0.05） in the PCD rats compared with the SAP model rats.       Conclusion      PCD relieves SAP-induced pancreatic and systemic injury

probably by draining harmful ascites which contains inflammatory cytokine and trypsin

inhibiting inflammatory reaction and promoting apoptosis of the pancreatic cells.