Crawling toward obsolescence: The extended lifespan of amylase for pancreatitis

Abstract

The correlation between hyperamylasemia and acute pancreatitis was discovered in 1929, yet another test, lipase, was shown to provide better diagnostic performance in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Subsequent studies demonstrated co-ordering amylase with lipase did not provide additional benefit, only added cost. We sought to investigate the impact of studies advocating for the obsolescence of amylase on its clinical demand. We reviewed 1.3 million reportable results for amylase over 14 years (2009–2022). The trend in utilization of amylase over this period declined by 66% along a linear trajectory (R2 = 0.97). Despite demand for amylase decreasing by an average of 17,003 tests per year, the last year of the study (2022) recorded over 100,000 results for amylase. By interpolating the decline of amylase until the utilization reached zero, we calculated amylase orders will continue for 6 more years until 2028. Tests for creatinine and lipase changed <3% over the same period. Despite a multitude of studies advocating for the obsolescence of amylase, robust demand continues. Many important clinical guidelines, a source many practicing physicians rely on, have yet to acknowledge the preference for lipase over amylase. They frequently treat the two tests as equivalent, neglecting their head-to-head comparison studies and subsequent studies advocating against co-ordering both tests simultaneously. To expedite the obsolescence of amylase, which we anticipate lasting 46 years in our case study from its initial call for obsolescence to the last orders placed, metrics created specifically to monitor the utilization of unnecessary tests are also needed.