Treatment of acute pancreatic pseudocysts (APP) after an episode of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) remains controversial. Both population heterogeneity and limited numbers of patients in most series prevent a proper analysis of therapeutic results. The study design is a case series of a large, tertiary referral hospital in the surgical treatment of patients with APP after SAP. An institutional treatment algorithm was used to triage patients with complicated APP and organ failure based on Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores to temporizing percutaneous or endoscopic drainage to control sepsis and improve their clinical condition before definitive surgical management. Over a 10-year period of study (December 1995 to 2005), 73 patients with APP after an episode of SAP were treated, 43 patients (59%) developed complications (infection 74.4%, perforation 21%, and bleeding 4.6%) and qualified for our treatment algorithm. Percutaneous/endoscopic drainage was successful in controlling sepsis in 11 of 13 patients (85%) with severe organ failure and allowed all patients to undergo definitive surgical management. The morbidity (7 vs 44.1%, P = 0.005) and mortality rates (0 vs 19%, P = 0.04) were significantly higher in complicated vs uncomplicated APP. Acute pancreatic pseudocysts after SAP are unpredictable and have a high incidence of complications. Once complications develop, there is a significantly higher morbidity and mortality rate. In complicated APP with severe organ failure, percutaneous/endoscopic drainage is useful in controlling sepsis and allowing definitive surgical management.

A prospective study of choledocholithiasis was performed using 110 patients with presumptive diagnoses of acute gallstone pancreatitis. The incidence of migrating and persistent bile duct stones was determined using stool screening and intraoperative cholangiography, and the clinical significance of continued stone obstruction of the papilla was investigated using ultrasound assessment of migration time and a second evaluation of prognostic signs. Pancreatic inflammation was confirmed at surgery in 51 patients, of whom only 27 had stones in the stools (n = 22) or the bile duct (n = 5), suggesting that choledocholithiasis may not be the sole triggering factor of acute gallstone pancreatitis. Neither delayed migration nor persistent stone obstruction of the papilla promoted pancreatic inflammation.

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