Management of complications of acute pancreatitis

Tenner, 2013

Antibiotic therapy is not recommended for acute pancreatitis in the absence of evidence of infectionTenner, 2013. For more information on the role of antibiotics in the management of acute pancreatitis, see Acute infected pancreatitis.

Specialist management in a high-dependency or intensive care unit is required for patients with severe acute pancreatitisTenner, 2013.

General principles of management for all patients with acute pancreatitis are discussed above; additional therapy for patients with complications of acute pancreatitis may include:

• treatment of hyperglycaemia
• treatment of symptomatic hypocalcaemia
• imaging of the biliary tree (if worsening biliary obstruction is suspected) with magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) or endoscopic ultrasound to confirm biliary obstruction—endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is not recommended unless acute (ascending) cholangitis is present
• treatment of acute infected pancreatitis or pancreatic abscess using drainage and antibiotic therapy; see Acute infected pancreatitis for suitable regimens.