Searching the Best Prognostic Factor in Out Come Evaluation in Patients With Acute Pancreatitis Admitted at Assiut University Hospitals

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is rapid-onset inflammation of the pancreas that varies in severity from a self-limiting mild illness to rapidly progressive multiple organ failure. Statistics suggest that 10-20% of patients with AP develop severe AP (SAP),1 which usually has an unfavourable disease progression and is associated with a poor prognosis. (Banks PA, Bollen,et al.).

The two most common and important causes of acute pancreatitis are gallstones (40-70%) and alcohol (25-35%) (Tenner S et al., 2014) Gallstone pancreatitis is usually due to an obstructing stone in the pancreatic duct near the sphincter of Oddi ( Bhatia M et al .,2005). In alcohol-related pancreatitis, it is believed that the acinar cells of the pancreas are susceptible to damage by ethanol and underlie the etiology of the disease ( Tonsi AF et al ., 2009). Another common cause, iatrogenic pancreatitis, may occur after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in up to 5% of patients. Other etiologies of acute pancreatitis include medications, infections, trauma, hereditary, hypertriglyceridemia and autoimmune disease.

According to the American College of Gastroenterology, a patient must have two of the following three features present to make a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis The diagnostic criteria used for acute pancreatitis includes:

1. Clinical criteria - history of pain in abdomen radiating to the back and relieved on bending forward associated with tenderness/guarding in the upper abdomen.
2. Radiographic evidence - Computed Tomography findings suggestive of acute pancreatitis such as pancreatic edema, pancreatic necrosis, peripancreatic fluid collections
3. Biochemical - Serum amylase concentration greater than 180 Somogyii units (by the Somogyii method).