image: The pancreas is a gland that sits behind the stomach. It is larger than the gallbladder, but smaller than the liver. The pancreas makes digestive enzymes that help break down fat and protein in foods and allow absorption of nutrients. The pancreas also makes insulin and other hormones that control how your body is able to use sugar. Pancreatitis is inflammation (swelling) of the pancreas that is most often caused by gallstones or alcohol abuse, but can have other causes. Pancreatitis often starts as a sudden attack of upper belly pain. Treatment for pancreatitis usually focuses on easing pain and meeting the fluid and nutritional needs of the patient. There are two types of pancreatitis, acute and chronic. This infographic provides information on causes and how to treat acute pancreatitis. Learn more at http://www.gastro.org/info_for_patients/all-pancreatitis. See a gastroenterologist if you're experiencing unexplained symptoms. view more
Credit: (C) American Gastroenterological Association
Bethesda, MD (Feb. 8, 2018) ? Management and treatment decisions made within the first 48 to 72 hours of hospital admission for acute pancreatitis patients can significantly alter the course of disease and duration of hospitalization. A new clinical guideline from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), published in Gastroenterology, the official journal of AGA, focuses on the critical decisions made during initial management of acute pancreatitis.
Management of acute pancreatitis has evolved slowly over the past century. However, emerging evidence challenges many of the long-held management paradigms regarding the benefit of antibiotics, the timing and mode of nutritional support, and the utility and timing of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and cholecystectomy.
AGA's new guideline aims to reduce practice variation and promote high-quality and high-value care for patients suffering from acute pancreatitis. It addresses questions on the benefits of goal-directed fluid resuscitation, early oral feeding, enteral versus parenteral nutrition, the routine use of prophylactic antibiotics and routine ERCP in all patients with acute pancreatitis.
Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition of the pancreas that can cause local injury, systemic inflammatory response syndrome and organ failure. In the U.S., acute pancreatitis is a leading cause of inpatient care among gastrointestinal conditions with more than 275,000 patients hospitalized annually, at an aggregate cost of over $2.6 billion per year, and evidence shows that the incidence has been rising.
Guideline Recommendations:
| Statement | Strength of recommendation | Quality of evidence |
|
1A. In patients with acute pancreatitis AGA suggests using goal directed therapy for fluid management. Comment: AGA makes no recommendation whether normal saline or ringer’s lactate is used. |
Conditional recommendation | Very low quality |
| 1B. In patients with acute pancreatitis, AGA suggests against the use of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) fluids. | Conditional recommendation | Very low quality |
| 2. In patients with predicted severe acute pancreatitis and necrotizing pancreatitis, AGA suggests against the use of prophylactic antibiotics. | Conditional recommendation | Low quality |
| 3. In patients with acute biliary pancreatitis and no cholangitis, AGA suggests against the routine use of urgent ERCP. | Conditional recommendation | Low quality |
| 4. In patients with acute pancreatitis, AGA recommends early (within 24 hours) oral feeding as tolerated rather than keeping the patient NPO. | Strong recommendation | Moderate quality |
| 5. In patients with acute pancreatitis and inability to feed orally, AGA recommends enteral rather than parenteral nutrition. | Strong recommendation | Moderate quality |
| 6. In patients with predicted severe or necrotizing pancreatitis requiring enteral tube feeding, AGA suggests either nasogastric or nasoenteral route. | Conditional recommendation | Low quality |
| 7. In patients with acute biliary pancreatitis, AGA recommends cholecystectomy during the initial admission rather than following discharge. | Strong recommendation | Moderate quality |
| 8. In patients with acute alcoholic pancreatitis, AGA recommends brief alcohol intervention during admission. | Strong recommendation | Moderate quality |
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The guideline is accompanied by a technical review and a patient companion infographic, which provides key points and important information directly to patients.
Resource
Reference
Crockett, S.D., Wani, S, Gardner, T.B., Falck-Ytter, Y., Barkun, A. American Gastroenterological Association Institute Guideline on Initial Management of Acute Pancreatitis. Gastroenterology (2018), doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.01.032 http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(18)30076-3/fulltext
Vege, S.S., DiMagno, M.J., Forsmark, C.E., Martel, M., Barkun, A.N. Initial Medical Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis: American Gastroenterological Association Institute Technical Review. Gastroenterology (2018), doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.01.031 http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(18)30075-1/fulltext
About the AGA Institute
The American Gastroenterological Association is the trusted voice of the GI community. Founded in 1897, the AGA has grown to more than 16,000 members from around the globe who are involved in all aspects of the science, practice and advancement of gastroenterology. The AGA Institute administers the practice, research and educational programs of the organization. http://www.gastro.org.
About Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA Institute, is the most prominent scientific journal in the specialty and is in the top 1 percent of indexed medical journals internationally. The journal publishes clinical and basic science studies of all aspects of the digestive system, including the liver and pancreas, as well as nutrition. The journal is abstracted and indexed in Biological Abstracts, Current Awareness in Biological Sciences, Chemical Abstracts, Current Contents, Excerpta Medica, Index Medicus, Nutrition Abstracts and Science Citation Index. For more information, visit http://www.gastrojournal.org.
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