To investigate the expression levels of microRNA-21-3p(miR-21-3p)and Runt-related transcription factor 3(RUNX3)in severe acute pancreatitis and their predictive value for the progression of the disease.

One hundred patients with acute pancreatitis admitted to Shifang People′s Hospital between March 2020 and March 2022 were selected as research objects and divided into control group(n=50, mild acute pancreatitis)and observation group(n=50, severe acute pancreatitis)according to their disease conditions.Real-time fluorescence quantification polymerase chain reaction(PCR)was used to detect the expression level of miR-21-3p, and enzyme-linked immunoassay was used to detect the expression level of RUNX3.The differences in the expression levels of miR-21-3p and RUNX3 between the two groups were compared, and the relationships between miR-21-3p and RUNX3 and the deterioration of severe acute pancreatitis were analyzed by Logistic regression analysis.Receiver Operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn to analyze the application value of miR-21-3p and RUNX3 in predicting and diagnosing the deterioration of severe acute pancreatitis.

The level of miR-21-3p in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the level of RUNX3 in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group, with statistically significant differences(P<0.05). The miR-21-3p level in survivors was lower than that in deaths, while the RUNX3 level in survivors was higher than that in deaths(P<0.05). Logistic results showed that the high expression of miR-21-3p was a risk factor for the worsening(death)of severe acute pancreatitis, and the high expression of RUNX3 was a protective factor for the worsening(death)of severe acute pancreatitis(P<0.05). ROC curve showed that the AUC(0.835, 95% CI: 0.742-0.928)of the combined diagnosis of miR-21-3p and RUNX3 in predicting the deterioration of severe acute pancreatitis was the largest, and the sensitivity and specificity were 83.33% and 93.18%(P<0.05), respectively.

miR-21-3p is highly expressed in the worsening process of severe acute pancreatitis, and RUNX3 is lowly expressed in the worsening process of severe acute pancreatitis.The combined diagnosis of the two indexes can predict the development of severe acute pancreatitis, which can provide a certain auxiliary role for the early diagnosis of patients.