[Latest advances in acute pancreatitis]

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases could be a risk factor for acute pancreatitis (AP), specifically hypertension and ischemic heart disease. Smoking is associated with AP (OR 2.34), with the association being less marked than with chronic pancreatitis. Moreover, smoking may worsen the prognosis of AP. The bedside index for severity in AP (BISAP) prognostic system has a similar ability to predict mortality to the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) index and is much simpler to calculate. Magnetic resonance imaging is a safe technique (it does not radiate the patient) and is useful in the diagnosis of complications, severity prediction and clinical decision making. Peripancreatic venous thrombosis is frequent in AP and is rarely associated with gastric variceal bleeding or mesenteric ischemia. The treatment of organized pancreatic necrosis by combined endoscopic and percutaneous drainage is safe and effective, avoiding the need for surgery. Aggressive fluid therapy does not seem to improve the outcome of patients with AP. The administration of early enteral nutrition in mild-moderate AP reduces abdominal pain and the risk of intolerance of oral refeeding.