Percutaneous Interventions in Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a disease of varying severity with acute necrotizing pancreatitis (ANP) being the severe form of AP. ANP needs multidisciplinary management and is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Local complications of ANP viz. acute necrotic collections (ANC) and walled off pancreatic necrosis (WOPN) need intervention if they are associated with symptoms, sepsis or worsening organ failure. As surgery is associated with higher morbidity and mortality, there is paradigm shift in the management of these local complications with an increased emphasis on conservative and minimally invasive treatment approach. Image-guided percutaneous drainage (PCD) is a minimally invasive intervention that helps in drainage of infected collections, temporizes sepsis and improves outcomes in these patients. The present review discusses the utility of various percutaneous interventions in management of variety of pancreatic collections occurring in ANP. The available evidence, technical details and complications and emerging innovations in the field are also summarized.