Prevention, detection, and management of infected necrosis in severe acute pancreatitis.
The management of infected peripancreatic or pancreatic necrosis in patients with severe pancreatitis has changed considerably in recent years. This review discusses the recent literature on prevention, detection, and management of infected necrosis. Though antibiotics, probiotics, and enteral nutrition have been tried to prevent infected necrosis, only enteral nutrition has consistently proven to be effective. Antibiotics and probiotics have not shown a consistent beneficial effect on outcome. Enteral nutrition reduced infectious complications and mortality in severe pancreatitis, compared with parenteral nutrition. The detection of infection of pancreatic necrosis is important for clinical decision making. Fine-needle aspiration may be used to confirm suspected infection, but if its results will not change clinical decisions, it should be omitted, as it may even introduce infection. Minimally invasive surgical, radiologic, or endoscopic intervention is increasingly being applied. In the absence of level 1 evidence, local expertise dictates which type of intervention is applied.
Bakker
Olaf J
OJ
University Medical Center Utrecht, Department of Surgery, HP G04.228, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht, The Netherlands.
van Santvoort
Hjalmar C
HC
Besselink
Marc G H
MG
van der Harst
Erwin
E
Hofker
H Sijbrand
HS
Gooszen
Hein G
HG
D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000379:methods; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D019283:Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013997:Time Factors