[Acute pancreatitis. Analysis of 97 patients]

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a disease with several causes and diverse clinical course. In our environment there are not many papers on this entity and they approach punctual features inside the broad spectrum picture. The aim of this study is to determinate clinical features, etiology, handling and evolution of patients diagnosed with AP admitted in our Hospital during a three years period. The clinical records of patients with AP admitted at the British Hospital of Buenos Aires between April 2004 and April 2007 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, etiology, treatment, severity of the illness, morbidity and mortality were evaluated. Ninety seven patients were diagnosed with AP during the analyzed period. Forty nine were male (50.5%). The average age was 58.5 +/- 1.6 years (range 21-93). Ninety two patients presented only one episode of AP and five patients suffered two or more (recurrent pancreatitis). According to the etiology, 48 had a biliary origin, 23 were idiopathic, 11 post biliary tract procedures, 2 recognized an alcoholic origin and 13 other causes. The median hospital stay was 7 days. Twenty five percent required admission in Intensive Care Unit. Most of the patients (n: 66; 72%) presented mild episodes according to the Ranson Score. The median of beginning oral feeding was 3 days. Regarding to complications, 13% have multiple organ failure, 8% pancreatic necrosis (4 infected), only one patient had a pseudocist and another patient a peripancreatic abscess. Mortality rate was 7.2% (7 cases, all with Ranson = 3). Although this is a short series, the biliar origin is still the most prevalent etiology in our population. The low number of alcoholic origin caught our attention. Mortality was similar to that described in other series, but the number of local complications was lower. Our data are consistent with other papers regarding management and prognosis, and update the Argentine casuistic.