Oh, joy! Another day, another clinical trial that makes you wonder, “Why didn’t we think of this sooner?” Introducing the Corticosteroids to Reduce Inflammation in Severe Pancreatitis (CRISP) trial, because when in doubt, throw some steroids at the problem and see what sticks. This groundbreaking study is on a quest to discover if corticosteroids, the darling of inflammation fighters, can actually do something about severe acute pancreatitis. Because, you know, up until now, we’ve just been crossing our fingers and hoping for the best with supportive care.

In this multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled extravaganza, patients are playing the medical version of roulette, being randomized to receive either 100 mg of hydrocortisone or a matching placebo every 8 hours for 3 days. The suspense is killing us! Will they, won’t they get the real deal? Clinical and laboratory data are being collected like rare Pokémon cards at various intervals, with the grand prize being the difference in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score at 72 hours. Because nothing says “success” like crunching numbers to see if there’s a statistically significant difference.

But wait, there’s more! They’re also looking at ventilator free days and 28-day mortality as if this trial wasn’t exciting enough. The results of this study promise to add to the towering pile of evidence in treating severe acute pancreatitis. Finally, we might have something more concrete to go on than just well wishes and supportive care. The trial is registered and everything, so you know it’s official. Let’s all sit on the edge of our seats waiting for the results, shall we? Because nothing says “cutting-edge medicine” like throwing steroids at a problem and hoping for the best.