Review on diagnosis of acute pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammation of the pancreas with variable involvement of surrounding tissues and/or distant organs. Acute pancreatitis is mild and resolves itself without serious complications in 80% of patients; however it has complications and mortality in about 20% of patients despite the aggressive intervention. This paper covers the various etiologies attributing to acute pancreatitis, pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis and the diagnostic markers used for acute pancreatitis. The diagnostic markers include: Amylase, Lipase, Trypsinogen, Interleukin-6, C reactive protein, Procalcitonin, Polymorphonuclear Elastase (PMN Elastase), Trypsin Activation Peptide (TAP), Trysinogen-2, Hepcidin, Copeptin, Soluble E-Selectin (sES) and Soluble Thrombomodulin (sTM), and Serum Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1).