Via practica 3/2011

Diagnosis of acute pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis is a disease characterized by significant morbidity and mortality. It is essential to interview all patients, take their medical histories and perform a physical examination. The etiology of acute pancreatitis may have a crucial impact on treatment policy as well as the severity assesment and it should be determined promptly and accurately. Acute pancreatitis should be diagnosed if the patient presents with at least two of the following three criteria: 1) acute abdominal pain and tenderness in the upper abdomen; 2) elevated levels of pancreatic enzymes in blood, urine or ascitic fluid; 3) the presence of abnormal imaging findings in the pancreas that are associated with acute pancreatitis.

Keywords: acute pancreatitis, diagnosis, lipase, ultrasound, computed tomography