Acute pancreatitis

TLDR: There is a wide spectrum of disease from mild (80%), where patients recover within a few days, to severe (20%) with prolonged hospital stay, the need for critical care support, and a 15-20% risk of death.

Abstract: Acute pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas; it is sometimes associated with a systemic inflammatory response that can impair the function of other organs or systems. The inflammation may settle spontaneously or may progress to necrosis of the pancreas or surrounding fatty tissue. The distant organ or system dysfunction may resolve or may progress to organ failure. Thus there is a wide spectrum of disease from mild (80%), where patients recover within a few days, to severe (20%) with prolonged hospital stay, the need for critical care support, and a 15-20% risk of death. If patients have organ failure during the first week in hospital, it is usually already present on the first day in hospital. This early organ failure may resolve in response to treatment. The diagnosis of severe acute pancreatitis depends on the presence of persistent organ failure (>48 hours) either during the first week or at a later stage, and also on the presence of local complications (usually apparent after the first week).