Acute pancreatitis: Contemporary diagnosis and management

• Objective: To review the diagnosis and management of patients with acute pancreatitis. • Methods: Literature review. • Results: Commonly encountered pancreatitis etiologies include alcoholic, biliary, idiopathic, hereditary, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercalcemia, and drug-induced. Imaging is not typically indicated unless the diagnosis is ambiguous or clinical judgement suggests a severe course, with the type of imaging dependent upon suspicion of underlying etiology. Management mainstays include bowel rest, pain/nausea relief, correcting underlying cause, and fluid resuscitation. Nutrition management and surgery may be required in selected severe cases. • Conclusion: Acute pancreatitis is a final common pathway by which various heterogeneous etiologies enter for this not uncommonly encountered pathology. Current trends in acute pancreatitis clinical research focuses on further refining questions regarding the biomarkers/scoring systems for prognostication, type and amount of fluid required for resuscitation, and further delineating the circumstance under which each imaging modality should be utilized.