Update on the management of acute pancreatitis

This review provides insight into the recent advancements in the management of acute pancreatitis.

Moderate fluid resuscitation and Ringer's lactate has advantages above aggressive fluid resuscitation and normal saline, respectively. A normal "on-demand" diet has a positive effect on recovery from acute pancreatitis and length of hospital stay. A multimodal pain management approach including epidural analgesia might reduce unwarranted effects of opiate use. A more targeted use of antibiotics is starting to emerge. Markers such as procalcitonin may be used to limit unwarranted antibiotic use. Conversely, many patients with infected necrotizing pancreatitis can be treated with only antibiotics, although the optimal choice and duration is unclear. Delay of drainage as much as is possible is advised since it is associated with less procedures. If drainage is required, clinicians have an expanding arsenal of interventional options to their disposal such as the lumen-apposing metal stent for transgastric drainage and (repeated) necrosectomy. Immunomodulation using removal of systemic cytokines or anti-inflammatory drugs is an attractive idea, but up to now the results of clinical trials are disappointing. No additional preventive measures beside non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be recommended for post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis.

More treatment modalities that are less invasive became available and a trend towards less aggressive treatments (fluids, starvation, interventions, opiates) of acute pancreatitis is again emerging. Despite recent advancements, the pathophysiology of specific subgroup phenotypes is still poorly understood which reflects the disappointing results of pharmacological and immunomodulatory trials.