Andrzej Salamon, Ewa Dąbrowska-Zamojcin, Iwona Poziomkowska, Andrzej Pawlik

Postępy w terapii ostrego zapalenia trzustki
2005-05-16

Advances in therapy of acute pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis is an acute painful abdominal disease of sudden onset that ranges from a mild and self-limited illness to a severe and severe life-threatening condition. In spite of decades of intensive research, there are no causal therapeutic options. Specific treatment is unavailable; therefore therapy is supportive, including the management of complications if and when they develop. Treatment relies on supportive treatment principles based on adequate volume replacement to compensate for fluid loss in the intraperitoneal space and analgesics for pain relief. In cases with acute pancreatitis predicted to have a severe course of the disease, antibiotic therapy is recommended to avoid infection of pancreatic necrosis. This review discusses the advances in understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of this disease.