Acute gallstone pancreatitis

Background: More than 220,000 patients are admitted to hospitals each year with acute pancreatitis in the United States alone. Acute pancreatitis is relatively common. Aim: To explore the modern modalities focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of acute gallstone pancreatitis (GSP). Methods: Systemic review of PubMed filter finds publications to support keywords of the current study. Findings: Among the numerous causes, two factors which account for about 70 -80% of cases of acute pancreatitis are biliary tract disease and alcoholism. Abdominal pain is the major manifestation of acute pancreatitis. The pain may vary from mild and tolerable to severe, constant and incapacitating distress. Marked elevation of serum amylase levels during the first 24 hours, followed within 72 to 96 hours by a rising serum lipase level. Hyperglycemia is common, hypocalcemia may result from precipitation of calcium soaps in necrotic fat, and hypertriglyceridemia occurs in 15 to 20% of patients. Direct visualization of the enlarged inflamed pancreas by radiography is useful in the diagnosis of pancreatitis. In the majority of patients [85–90%] acute pancreatitis is self-limited and subsides spontaneously, usually within 3–7 days after treatment is started. About 5% with severe acute pancreatitis die from shock during the first week. Acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute renal failure are dangerous complications. Conclusion: GSP is a disease with a wide spectrum of severity. Diagnosis and management have evolved in recent decades with the advent of new and improved technology. Advances in imaging techniques have limited the need for diagnostic procedures in many cases, and various treatment options are becoming more widely available.