mon and potentially lethal disorder. 1 In the United States alone, more than 50 000 patients are admitted with acute pancreatitis each year. 2 One of the most dreaded complications in these patients is infected necrotizing pancreatitis that leads to sepsis and is often followed by multiple organ failure. 3 In these patients interventions are necessary to debride the infected necrosis, but the interventions themselves cause substantial morbidity. 4-6 The treatment of infected necrotizing pancreatitis has undergone fundamental changes in recent years. Whenever possible, intervention is postponed until the collections with necrosis are demarcated. 7,8 Demarcation facilitates necrosectomy and reduces complications related to the drainage and debride-ment procedures. 9 A recent randomized trial demonstrated that a step-up approach of percutaneous catheter For editorial comment see p 1084.