Acute pancreatitis

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory process involving the pancreatic gland, which may remain localized to the pancreas, spread to regional tissues, or involve remote organ systems. In approximately 80-85% of cases, the course of acute pancreatitis is clinically mild and self-limiting with minimal local and systemic manifestations (Bradley 1993). However, in 15-20% of cases, acute pancreatitis has a severe clinical course, elicited by a sustained systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) (Bollen et al. 2007), that often precedes the development of (multi)organ failure or death. About 10-30% of patients with severe acute pancreatitis die (Whitcomb 2006). Severe acute pancreatitis demands management by a multidisciplinary team, involving gastroenterologists, intensivists, surgeons, and (interventional) radiologists.