Improving the Treatment of Necrotizing Pancreatitis — A Step Up

Acute pancreatitis in most patients is self-limited and resolves without complications or the need for invasive procedures or surgical intervention. In a minority of patients, perhaps 10%, necrosis of the pancreatic and peripancreatic tissues opens the door to multiple organ failure, infection of the necrotic tissue, or both, with a greatly increased risk of death; this risk has been estimated to be 20 to 30%. Recent reports citing a substantial reduction in the rate of death, ranging as low as 4%,1,2 attribute the improvement to better intensive care; avoidance of early intervention to allow resuscitation, stabilization, and demarcation and . . .