[Prognostic value of early CT examination for evaluating duration and complications in acute pancreatitis]

In 47 patients with acute pancreatitis abdominal CT scans at admission (< 72 hrs) and control CT scans (2-4 week) were performed. We evaluated degree of pancreatic swelling on the ground of pancreatic size index (anterio-posterior size of head x anterio-posterior size of body), extent of peripancreatic inflammatory changes and presence of local complications. We demonstrated a high frequency of pancreatic abscess in patients with peripancreatic inflammatory changes in initiàl CT scans and in patients with high degree of pancreatic swelling (wt > 10 cm2). Early CT had a sensitivity of 80 percent and specificity of 100 percent for abscess development when these two prognostic factors were considered. It show that early CT has a significant value in establishing prognosis in patients with acute pancreatitis.