2019 WSES guidelines for the management of severe acute pancreatitis

Ari LeppäniemiEmail author,
Matti Tolonen,
Antonio Tarasconi,
Helmut Segovia-Lohse,
Emiliano Gamberini,
Andrew W. Kirkpatrick,
Chad G. Ball,
Neil Parry,
Massimo Sartelli,
Daan Wolbrink,
Harry van Goor,
Gianluca Baiocchi,
Luca Ansaloni,
Walter Biffl,
Federico Coccolini,
Salomone Di Saverio,
Yoram Kluger,
Ernest Moore and
Fausto Catena

World Journal of Emergency Surgery201914:27

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13017-019-0247-0

Received: 23 April 2019
Accepted: 27 May 2019
Published: 13 June 2019

Abstract

Although most patients with acute pancreatitis have the mild form of the disease, about 20–30% develops a severe form, often associated with single or multiple organ dysfunction requiring intensive care. Identifying the severe form early is one of the major challenges in managing severe acute pancreatitis. Infection of the pancreatic and peripancreatic necrosis occurs in about 20–40% of patients with severe acute pancreatitis, and is associated with worsening organ dysfunctions. While most patients with sterile necrosis can be managed nonoperatively, patients with infected necrosis usually require an intervention that can be percutaneous, endoscopic, or open surgical. These guidelines present evidence-based international consensus statements on the management of severe acute pancreatitis from collaboration of a panel of experts meeting during the World Congress of Emergency Surgery in June 27–30, 2018 in Bertinoro, Italy. The main topics of these guidelines fall under the following topics: Diagnosis, Antibiotic treatment, Management in the Intensive Care Unit, Surgical and operative management, and Open abdomen.