The Atlanta classification of acute pancreatitis enabled standardised reporting of research and aided communication between clinicians. Deficiencies identified and improved understanding of the disease make a revision necessary.A web-based consultation was undertaken in 2007 to ensure wide participation of pancreatologists. After an initial meeting, the Working Group sent a draft document to 11 national and international pancreatic associations. This working draft was forwarded to all members. Revisions were made in response to comments, and the web-based consultation was repeated three times. The final consensus was reviewed, and only statements based on published evidence were retained.The revised classification of acute pancreatitis identified two phases of the disease: early and late. Severity is classified as mild, moderate or severe. Mild acute pancreatitis, the most common form, has no organ failure, local or systemic complications and usually resolves in the first week. Moderately severe acute pancreatitis is defined by the presence of transient organ failure, local complications or exacerbation of co-morbid disease. Severe acute pancreatitis is defined by persistent organ failure, that is, organ failure >48 h. Local complications are peripancreatic fluid collections, pancreatic and peripancreatic necrosis (sterile or infected), pseudocyst and walled-off necrosis (sterile or infected). We present a standardised template for reporting CT images.This international, web-based consensus provides clear definitions to classify acute pancreatitis using easily identified clinical and radiologic criteria. The wide consultation among pancreatologists to reach this consensus should encourage widespread adoption.

Acute pancreatitis may be associated with both local and systemic complications. Systemic injury manifests in the form of organ failure, which is seen in approximately 20% of all cases of acute pancreatitis and defines "severe acute pancreatitis." Organ failure typically develops early in the course of acute pancreatitis, but also may develop later due to infected pancreatic necrosis-induced sepsis. Organ failure is the most important determinant of outcome in acute pancreatitis. We review here the current understanding of the risk factors, pathophysiology, timing, impact on outcome, and therapy of organ failure in acute pancreatitis. As we discuss the pathophysiology of severe systemic injury, the distinctions between markers and mediators of severity are highlighted based on evidence supporting their causality in organ failure. Emphasis is placed on clinically relevant end points of organ failure and the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiological perturbations, which offer insight into potential therapeutic targets to treat.Copyright © 2019 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The current standard care for acute pancreatitis with acute necrotic collections (ANC) is to postpone invasive intervention for 4 weeks when indicated. However, in patients with persistent organ failure (POF), this delayed approach may prolong organ failure. In this study, we aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of earlier drainage for acute pancreatitis patients with ANC and POF.A single-center, randomized controlled trial was conducted. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to either the early on-demand (EOD) group or the standard management (SM) group. Within 21 days of randomization, early drainage was triggered by unremitted or worsening organ failure in the EOD group. The primary endpoint was a composite of major complications/death during 90-days follow-up.Thirty patients were randomized. Within 21 days of randomization, eight of the 15 patients (53%) in the EOD group underwent percutaneous drainage compared to four of the 15 patients (27%) in the SM group (P = 0.26). The primary outcome occurred in three of the 15 (20%) patients in the EOD group and seven of the 15(46.7%) in the controls (P = 0.25, relative risk 0.43, 95%CI 0.14 to 1.35).Although the EOD approach did not result in significant differences between groups, the primary outcome assessed in this trial demonstrated the potential for clinical benefits favoring early drainage.© 2021 Japanese Society of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery.

For decades, infected or symptomatic pancreatic necrosis was managed by open surgical necrosectomy, an approach that has now been largely supplanted by an array of techniques referred to as the step-up approach.

The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was developed more than 25 years ago to provide a simple method of assessing and monitoring organ dysfunction in critically ill patients. Changes in clinical practice over the last few decades, with new interventions and a greater focus on non-invasive monitoring systems, mean it is time to update the SOFA score. As a first step in this process, we propose some possible new variables that could be included in a SOFA 2.0. By so doing, we hope to stimulate debate and discussion to move toward a new, properly validated score that will be fit for modern practice.\n

Abdominal bleeding is a lethal complication in acute pancreatitis (AP) and it is commonly described as a late event. However, spontaneous intra-abdominal bleeding could occur very early but no study focusing on this phenomenon was published yet. In this study, 1137 AP patients were retrospectively screened and 24 subjects suffering early spontaneous bleeding (ESB) were selected. Meanwhile, a 1:1 well-balanced cohort of non-bleeding patients was generated by propensity score match. The clinical characteristics of these patients were compared and a multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the risk factors for ESB. Besides, patients with massive post-intervention bleeding (PIB) were collected for additional comparison. ESB patients suffered significantly worse outcome than the matched cohort evidenced by dramatically higher mortality than the non-bleeding patients and even the PIB group (54.2% versus 20.8%, P = 0.017; 54.2% versus 31.0%, P = 0.049). The regression analysis demonstrated computer tomography severity index (CTSI; OR, 3.34; 95% CI, 1.995-5.59, P < 0.001) and creatinine (OR, 1.008; 95% CI, 1.004-1.012, P < 0.001) were associated with the occurrence of ESB. In conclusion, ESB is a rare but dangerous complication of moderate-to-severe AP and may result in high mortality. CTSI and creatinine are independent risk factors for the development of ESB.

The purpose of this American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute Clinical Practice Update is to review the available evidence and expert recommendations regarding the clinical care of patients with pancreatic necrosis and to offer concise best practice advice for the optimal management of patients with this highly morbid condition.This expert review was commissioned and approved by the AGA Institute Clinical Practice Updates Committee and the AGA Governing Board to provide timely guidance on a topic of high clinical importance to the AGA membership, and underwent internal peer review by the Clinical Practice Updates Committee and external peer review through standard procedures of Gastroenterology. This review is framed around the 15 best practice advice points agreed upon by the authors, which reflect landmark and recent published articles in this field. This expert review also reflects the experiences of the authors, who are advanced endoscopists or hepatopancreatobiliary surgeons with extensive experience in managing and teaching others to care for patients with pancreatic necrosis. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 1: Pancreatic necrosis is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality and optimal management requires a multidisciplinary approach, including gastroenterologists, surgeons, interventional radiologists, and specialists in critical care medicine, infectious disease, and nutrition. In situations where clinical expertise may be limited, consideration should be given to transferring patients with significant pancreatic necrosis to an appropriate tertiary-care center. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 2: Antimicrobial therapy is best indicated for culture-proven infection in pancreatic necrosis or when infection is strongly suspected (ie, gas in the collection, bacteremia, sepsis, or clinical deterioration). Routine use of prophylactic antibiotics to prevent infection of sterile necrosis is not recommended. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 3: When infected necrosis is suspected, broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics with ability to penetrate pancreatic necrosis should be favored (eg, carbapenems, quinolones, and metronidazole). Routine use of antifungal agents is not recommended. Computed tomography-guided fine-needle aspiration for Gram stain and cultures is unnecessary in the majority of cases. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 4: In patients with pancreatic necrosis, enteral feeding should be initiated early to decrease the risk of infected necrosis. A trial of oral nutrition is recommended immediately in patients in whom there is absence of nausea and vomiting and no signs of severe ileus or gastrointestinal luminal obstruction. When oral nutrition is not feasible, enteral nutrition by either nasogastric/duodenal or nasojejunal tube should be initiated as soon as possible. Total parenteral nutrition should be considered only in cases where oral or enteral feeds are not feasible or tolerated. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 5: Drainage and/or debridement of pancreatic necrosis is indicated in patients with infected necrosis. Drainage and/or debridement may be required in patients with sterile pancreatic necrosis and persistent unwellness marked by abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and nutritional failure or with associated complications, including gastrointestinal luminal obstruction; biliary obstruction; recurrent acute pancreatitis; fistulas; or persistent systemic inflammatory response syndrome. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 6: Pancreatic debridement should be avoided in the early, acute period (first 2 weeks), as it has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Debridement should be optimally delayed for 4 weeks and performed earlier only when there is an organized collection and a strong indication. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 7: Percutaneous drainage and transmural endoscopic drainage are both appropriate first-line, nonsurgical approaches in managing patients with walled-off pancreatic necrosis (WON). Endoscopic therapy through transmural drainage of WON may be preferred, as it avoids the risk of forming a pancreatocutaneous fistula. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 8: Percutaneous drainage of pancreatic necrosis should be considered in patients with infected or symptomatic necrotic collections in the early, acute period (<2 weeks), and in those with WON who are too ill to undergo endoscopic or surgical intervention. Percutaneous drainage should be strongly considered as an adjunct to endoscopic drainage for WON with deep extension into the paracolic gutters and pelvis or for salvage therapy after endoscopic or surgical debridement with residual necrosis burden. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 9: Self-expanding metal stents in the form of lumen-apposing metal stents appear to be superior to plastic stents for endoscopic transmural drainage of necrosis. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 10: The use of direct endoscopic necrosectomy should be reserved for those patients with limited necrosis who do not adequately respond to endoscopic transmural drainage using large-bore, self-expanding metal stents/lumen-apposing metal stents alone or plastic stents combined with irrigation. Direct endoscopic necrosectomy is a therapeutic option in patients with large amounts of infected necrosis, but should be performed at referral centers with the necessary endoscopic expertise and interventional radiology and surgical backup. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 11: Minimally invasive operative approaches to the debridement of acute necrotizing pancreatitis are preferred to open surgical necrosectomy when possible, given lower morbidity. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 12: Multiple minimally invasive surgical techniques are feasible and effective, including videoscopic-assisted retroperitoneal debridement, laparoscopic transgastric debridement, and open transgastric debridement. Selection of approach is best determined by pattern of disease, physiology of the patient, experience and expertise of the multidisciplinary team, and available resources. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 13: Open operative debridement maintains a role in the modern management of acute necrotizing pancreatitis in cases not amenable to less invasive endoscopic and/or surgical procedures. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 14: For patients with disconnected left pancreatic remnant after acute necrotizing mid-body necrosis, definitive surgical management with distal pancreatectomy should be undertaken in patients with reasonable operative candidacy. Insufficient evidence exists to support the management of the disconnected left pancreatic remnant with long-term transenteric endoscopic stenting. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 15: A step-up approach consisting of percutaneous drainage or endoscopic transmural drainage using either plastic stents and irrigation or self-expanding metal stents/lumen-apposing metal stents alone, followed by direct endoscopic necrosectomy, and then surgical debridement is reasonable, although approaches may vary based on the available clinical expertise.Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.

&lt;b&gt;<i>Background:</i>&lt;/b&gt; Severe acute pancreatitis (AP) continues to be a serious gastrointestinal disease with relevant morbidity and mortality. &lt;b&gt;<i>Summary:</i>&lt;/b&gt; Successful clinical management requires close interdisciplinary cooperation and coordination from experienced gastroenterologists, intensive care physicians, surgeons, and radiologists. While the early phase of the disease is characterized by intensive care aspects that focus primarily on treatment of organ failure, later complications are characterized especially by (infected) necrotic collections. Here, we discuss current clinical standards and developments for conservative and interventional management of patients with severe AP. &lt;b&gt;<i>Key messages:</i>&lt;/b&gt; Early targeted fluid therapy within the first 48 h is critical to improve the outcome of severe AP. Thoracic epidural analgesia may have prognostically beneficial effects due to suspected anti-inflammatory effects and increased perfusion of splanchnic vessels. Enteral feeding should be started early during severe AP. Persistent organ failure (&amp;#x3e;48 h) is the strongest predictor of poor prognosis, and local complications such as infected walled-off necrosis should be primarily treated by minimally invasive endoscopic step-up approaches that are usually superior to surgical therapy options.

Acute necrotizing pancreatitis is managed conservatively in early phase of the disease. Even minimally invasive procedure is preferred after 21 days of onset and there is a paucity of data on decision and outcomes of early radiological interventions. This study aimed to evaluate efficacy and safety of early image-guided percutaneous interventions in management of acute severe necrotizing pancreatitis.A single-center retrospective study was performed after obtaining Institutional review board approval for analyzing hospital records of patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis from January 2012 to July 2017. Seventy-eight consecutive patients with necrotizing pancreatitis and acute necrotic collections (ANC) were managed with percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) and catheter-directed necrosectomy, in early phase of the disease (< 21 days). Clinical data and laboratory parameters of the included patients were evaluated until discharge from hospital, or mortality.Overall survival rate was 73.1%. Forty-two (53.8%) patients survived with PCD alone, while the remaining 15 (19.2%) survivors needed additional necrosectomy. The timing of intervention from the start of the hospitalization to drainage was 14.3 ± 2.4 days. Significant risk factors for mortality were the presence of organ system failure, need for mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, and the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score. An APACHE II score cutoff value of 15 was a significant discriminant for predicting survival with catheter-directed necrosectomy.An early PCD of ANC in clinically deteriorating patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis, along with aggressive catheter-directed necrosectomy can avoid surgical interventions, and improve outcome in a significant proportion of patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis.

Previous researches have emphasized a trypsin-centered theory of acute pancreatitis (AP) for more than a century. With additional studies into the pathogenesis of AP, new mechanisms have been explored. Among them, the role of immune response bears great importance. Pro-inflammatory substances, especially damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), play an essential role in activating, signaling, and steering inflammation. Meanwhile, activated neutrophils attach great importance to the immune defense by forming neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which cause ductal obstruction, premature trypsinogen activation, and modulate inflammation. In this review, we discuss the latest advances in understanding the pathological role of DAMPs and NETs in AP and shed light on the flexible crosstalk between these vital inflammatory mediators. We, then highlight the potentially promising treatment for AP targeting DAMPs and NETs, with a focus on novel insights into the mechanism, diagnosis, and management of AP.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) often presents with varying severity, with a small fraction evolving into severe AP, and is associated with high mortality. Complications such as intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) are intricately associated with AP.To assess the clinical implications and predictors of ACS in AP patients.We conducted a retrospective study using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database on adult AP patients, further stratified by the presence of concurrent ACS. The data extraction included demographics, underlying comorbidities, and clinical outcomes. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were performed using STATA (v.14.2).Of the 1,099,175 adult AP patients, only 1,090 (0.001%) exhibited ACS. AP patients with ACS had elevated inpatient mortality and all major complications, including septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), requirement for total parenteral nutrition (TPN), and intensive care unit (ICU) admission (P < 0.01). These patients also exhibited increased odds of requiring pancreatic drainage and necrosectomy (P < 0.01). Predictor analysis identified blood transfusion, obesity (BMI ≥30), and admission to large teaching hospitals as factors associated with the development of ACS in AP patients. Conversely, age, female gender, biliary etiology of AP, and smoking were found less frequently in patients with ACS.Our study highlights the significant morbidity, mortality, and healthcare resource utilization associated with the concurrence of ACS in AP patients. We identified potential factors associated with ACS in AP patients. Significantly worse outcomes in ACS necessitate the need for early diagnosis, meticulous monitoring, and targeted therapeutic interventions for AP patients at risk of developing ACS.Copyright © 2024 IAP and EPC. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.