[Acute pancreatitis: an overview of the management]

Abstract

Over the past decades, the incidence and the number of hospital admissions for acute pancreatitis have increased in the Western countries. The two most common etiological factors of acute pancreatitis are gallstones (including small gallstones or microlithiasis) and alcohol abuse. Acute pancreatitis is associated with a significant mortality (4-10%) and 25% in case of pancreatic necrosis, especially. Edematous pancreatitis is benign and oral feeding can be restarted once abdominal pain is decreasing and inflammatory markers are improving. Enteral tube feeding should be the primary therapy in patients with predicted severe acute pancreatitis who require nutritional support. Enteral nutrition in acute pancreatitis can be administered via either the nasojejunal or nasogastric route. In case of necrosis, preventive antibiotics are not recommended. The single indication is infected necrosis confirmed by fine needle aspiration. The incidence trends of acute pancreatitis possibly reflect a change in the prevalence of main etiological factors (e.g. gallstones and alcohol consumption) and cofactors such as tobacco, obesity and genetic susceptibility. Priority is to search for associated causes, especially in cases with atypical symptoms. In case of first acute pancreatitis in patients older than 50 years, the presence of a tumor (benign or malignant) has to be specifically ruled out, using CT-scan, MRI and endoscopic ultrasound.

Keywords: Acute pancreatitis; Alcoolisme chronique; Auto-immune pancreatitis; Biliary disease; Chronic alcoholism; Hereditary pancreatitis; Maladie lithiasique; Pancréatite aiguë; Pancréatite héréditaire; Tabac; Tobacco consumption.