Table of contents
Acute pancreatitis
What's new
Updated 2024 ACG guidelines for the diagnosis and management of acute pancreatitis.
Background
Overview
Definition
Acute pancreatitis is a disease characterized by acute inflammation of the pancreas.
1
Pathophysiology
Acute pancreatitis is most frequently due to gallstones (40%) and alcohol (30%). Other minor causes include ERCP (5-10%), surgical complications (5-10%), drugs (< 5%), hypertriglyceridemia (2-5%), trauma (< 1%), infection (< 1%) and autoimmunity (< 1%).
3
Epidemiology
The incidence of acute pancreatitis ranges from 13 to 45 cases per 100,000 person-years.
2
Disease course
In patients with acute pancreatitis, localized tissue damage causes activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, leading to a systemic inflammatory response that can progress to multiple organ failure and early mortality. The compensatory release of anti-inflammatory mediators plays a role in causing increased susceptibility to septic complications, such as infected pancreatic necrosis, and contributes to late mortality.
4
Prognosis and risk of recurrence
Mortality associated with acute pancreatitis is approximately 1-5%, and the recurrence rate is approximately 20%.
5
Guidelines
Key sources
The following summarized guidelines for the evaluation and management of acute pancreatitis are prepared by our editorial team based on guidelines from the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG 2024), the American Diabetes Association (ADA 2024), the United European Gastroenterology (UEG/ESPEN 2023), the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE 2023; 2015), the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA 2020; 2018), the World Society...
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Screening and diagnosis
Classification and risk stratification
Diagnostic investigations
Serum lipase and amylase: as per WSES 2019 guidelines, use 3 times the upper limit as the cut-off value of serum amylase and lipase.
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CRP
Additional laboratory tests
Abdominal imaging (ultrasound)
Abdominal imaging (CT/MRI)
MRCP/EUS
Evaluation for underlying cause
Diagnostic procedures
ERCP: as per AGA 2018 guidelines, avoid performing urgent ERCP routinely in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis and no cholangitis.
D
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Aspiration of peripancreatic fluid collections
Respiratory support
Mechanical ventilation
As per WSES 2019 guidelines:
Perform mechanical ventilation if oxygen supply, even with high flow nasal oxygen, or CPAP are ineffective in correcting tachypnea and dyspnea in patients with acute pancreatitis.
B
Use either noninvasive or invasive techniques for mechanical ventilation. Use invasive ventilation when bronchial secretions clearance start to be ineffective and/or the patient is tiring or predicted to tire. Follow lung-protective strategies when invasive ventilation is needed.
B
Medical management
Setting of care, ICU: as per ACG 2024 guidelines, admit patients with organ failure and/or systemic inflammatory response syndrome preferably to a monitored bed setting.
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Setting of care (tertiary care)
Supportive care (general principles)
Supportive care (fluid therapy)
Supportive care (pain management)
Antibiotic therapy (prophylactic)
Antibiotic therapy (therapeutic)
Antifungal therapy
Specific pharmacotherapy
Management of pancreatic pseudocysts
Nonpharmacologic interventions
Nutrition support, oral feeding
As per ACG 2024 guidelines:
Consider initiating early oral feeding (within 24-48 hours) as tolerated by the patient over the traditional NPO approach in patients with mild acute pancreatitis.
C
Consider using low-fat solid diet over a stepwise liquid to solid approach for initial oral feeding in patients with mild acute pancreatitis.
C
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Nutrition support (enteral feeding)
Nutrition support (parenteral nutrition)
Brief intervention for alcohol misuse
Therapeutic procedures
ERCP, indications
As per ACG 2024 guidelines:
Perform early ERCP within the first 24 hours of admission to decrease morbidity and mortality in patients with acute pancreatitis complicated by cholangitis.
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Consider initiating medical therapy over early (within the first 72 hours) ERCP in patients with acute biliary pancreatitis without cholangitis.
C
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ERCP (prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis)
Percutaneous/endoscopic drainage (pancreatic necrosis)
Percutaneous/endoscopic drainage (gallstone pancreatitis)
Surgical interventions
General principles: as per ACG 2024 guidelines, consider delaying any intervention (surgical, radiological, and/or endoscopic) in stable patients with pancreatic necrosis, preferably 4 weeks, to allow for the wall of collection to mature.
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Cholecystectomy
Pancreatic necrosectomy
Distal pancreatectomy
Open abdomen
Specific circumstances
Patients with obesity
As per UEG/ESPEN 2023 guidelines:
Do not offer special nutrition care in patients with acute pancreatitis and obesity compared to lean patients with acute pancreatitis.
D
Consider offering an isocaloric high-protein diet (> 1.3 g/kg adjusted body weight/day) in the acute phase of severe acute pancreatitis in patients with obesity. Guide energy and protein intake by indirect calorimetry. Do not offer particular nutritional treatment beyond the recommendations for patients with obesity in general, apart from the acute phase of acute pancreatitis.
C
Follow-up and surveillance
Follow-up imaging
As per WSES 2019 guidelines:
Obtain follow-up contrast-enhanced CT after 7-10 days from the initial CT in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (CT severity index ≥ 3).
B
Obtain additional contrast-enhanced CT only if clinical status deteriorates or fails to show continued improvement, or when invasive intervention is considered.
B
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Surveillance for pancreatic diabetes