Metabolic management of severe acute pancreatitis

The metabolic management of severe acute pancreatitis involves early identification of patients with severe pancreatitis, aggressive fluid resuscitation, organ support, and careful monitoring in an intensive care environment. Recent evidence has helped to define the roles of enteral feeding, prophylactic antibiotics, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, computed tomography, and fine-needle aspiration for bacteriology. The most difficult decision in the management of these patients is whether surgery is required and which of the complementary approaches to necrosectomy and drainage is appropriate. Key metabolic events in the acinar cell, pancreas, and intestines are now being unraveled, as is the basis for the systemic manifestations and organ dysfunction associated with pancreatitis. This gives hope for the development of more specific metabolic interventions, which will likely target the maintenance of intestinal integrity and function, preservation of pancreatic microcirculation, and balanced modulation of the inflammatory response.