Imaging assessment of acute pancreatitis: a review.
Acute pancreatitis is one of the more commonly encountered etiologies in the emergency setting. While in the majority of cases it is a self-limiting disease which responds rapidly to conservative management, in some cases acute pancreatitis may present with a more pronounced, sometimes dramatic, clinical picture and requires immediate medical care to avoid fatal complication. In this context, imaging plays a significant role because it enables identification of the development of the disease and local/systemic complications. The purpose of this article is to offer an overview of the disease and a spectrum of imaging findings in patients with acute pancreatitis, emphasizing the role of ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging according to the appropriate clinical context and advantages and limitations of each imaging modality are examined.
Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Clinica Pineta Grande, Castel Volturno, Caserta, Italy. mscaglione@tiscali.it
Mariano
M
Scaglione
Emanuele
E
Casciani
Antonio
A
Pinto
Chiara
C
Andreoli
Marina
M
De Vargas
Gian Franco
GF
Gualdi
D000208:Acute Disease; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D010179:Pancreas / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*