Improved survival with early CT diagnosis of pancreatic abscess

Until recently pancreatic abscess was often a lethal complication of acute pancreatitis. A major factor contributing to this high mortality has been delay in diagnosis. When combined with diagnostic needle aspiration, computed tomography (CT) has greatly enhanced the early detection of pancreatic abscesses. In the past 5 years at our institutions 23 patients with proven pancreatic abscesses were evaluated early in their clinical course by CT. In follow-up ranging from 4 months to 4 1/2 years there were only 4 deaths: a mortality rate of 17%. Many of the surviving patients had a long and protracted clinical course (mean length of hospitalization, 58 days) and reoperation for recurrent abscess or gastrointestinal complications was required in 9 patients (39%). Computed tomography proved helpful both in localizing the site of de novo or recurrent pancreatic abscess and in detecting postoperative complications. An aggressive approach to early CT scanning with diagnostic needle aspiration appears to be a factor in the improved survival of these patients.