Advances in prognostic factors in acute pancreatitis:a mini-review

BACKGROUND:Early assessment of the severity of acute pancreatitis is essential to the proper management of the disease.It is dependent on the criteria of the Atlanta classification system.DATA SOURCES:PubMed search of recent relevant articles was performed to identify information about the severity and prognosis of acute pancreatitis.RESULTS:The scoring systems included the Ranson’s or Glasgow’s criteria ≥3,the APACHE II classification system ≥8,and the Balthazar’s criteria ≥4 according to the computed tomography enhanced scanning findings.The single factors on admission included age >65 years,obesity,hemoconcentration(>44%),abnormal chest X-ray,creatinine >2 mg/dl,C-reactive protein>150 mg/dl,procalcitonin >1.8 ng/ml,albumin <2.5 mg/dl,calcium <8.5 mg/dl,early hyperglycemia,increased intra-abdominal pressure,macrophage migration inhibitory factor,or a combination of IL-10 >50 pg/ml with calcium <6.6 mg/dl.CONCLUSION:The prediction of the severity of acute pancreatitis is largely based on well defined multiple factor scoring systems as well as several single risk factors.