Can ultrasound predict the severity of acute pancreatitis early by observing acute fluid collection?

The spectrum of acute pancreatitis (AP) ranges from a mild spontaneously resolved disorder to severe disease with a mortality up to 20%-48.4%[1-3]. sAP is defined as the AP with organ failure and/or local complications which developed from acute fluid collection (AFC) including necrosis, abscess, pseudocyst formation into or around the pancreas[4]. sAP is only about 15%-25% but almost all of mortality and morbidity of AP is concentrated in it[5]. Early diagnosis and assessment of severity in AP are still far from ideal. The role of clinical assessment is reliable but for its subjectivity the value in the early detection of severity is limited[1,6]. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a promising laboratory marker of severity, even though it is not specific for AP[1]. Single or multiple biochemical criteria and different scoring systems have been used as prognostic indicators, but none has been proven satisfactory in clinical practice[1,6].

The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic significance of evaluating the severity of AP by observing AFC using ultrasonography.