Idiopathic acute pancreatitis.
After routine investigations, including a thorough history, routine laboratory study, and noninvasive imaging with transcutaneous ultrasonogram, 10% to 25% of cases of acute pancreatitis have no readily identifiable cause and are termed idiopathic. But modern medicine has made notable advances in uncovering various causes of acute pancreatitis, and several new diagnostic tools that allow clinicians to less invasively approach the patient without sacrificing the diagnostic yield have been introduced. By being knowledgeable of these new changes and by their proper use in a proper circumstances, clinicians will be able to find the cause more accurately and earlier. This better management will not only improve the well-being of the patients but also reduce the number of "true" idiopathic acute pancreatitis to a minimum.
Kim
Hyun Jun
HJ
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Kim
Myung-Hwan
MH
Bae
Jong-Seok
JS
Lee
Sang-Soo
SS
Seo
Dong Wan
DW
Lee
Sung Koo
SK
D000208:Acute Disease; D006801:Humans; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy