Conservative treatment of acute pancreatitis

Abstract

Despite the progress over the last decades in diagnostic and interventional modalities, acute pancreatitis is still associated with a high mortality rate. In most cases the disease is mild and self limited, necessitating a few days of conservative treatment. Severe acute pancreatitis, in contrast, is associated with local and systemic complications. Conservative treatment in acute pancreatitis targets specific topics such as adequate pain control, efficient inhibition of pancreatic autodigestion and prevention of infection. Issues of this review article are the conservative treatment modalities in acute pancreatitis based on the current literature.