TY - JOUR
T1 - The changing character of acute pancreatitis
T2 - Epidemiology, etiology, and prognosis
AU - Lowenfels, Albert B.
AU - Maisonneuve, Patrick
AU - Sullivan, Thomas
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Acute pancreatitis continues to be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for physicians and surgeons. It ranks third in the list of hospital discharges for gastro intestinal diseases. In most patients the cause is either gallstones or alcoholism. The overall mortality is less than 5%, but severe acute pancreatitis leads to prolonged hospitalization and much higher mortality. There are important differences in disease susceptibility and case fatality rates: the incidence is higher in blacks than in whites, and mortality is higher in older patients than in younger patients. Reports from various countries reveal that the frequency of acute pancreatitis is increasing, perhaps in relation to rising obesity rates, which would increase the likelihood of gallstone pancreatitis. Conversely, mortality rates for acute pancreatitis are declining in many, but not all, reports.
AB - Acute pancreatitis continues to be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for physicians and surgeons. It ranks third in the list of hospital discharges for gastro intestinal diseases. In most patients the cause is either gallstones or alcoholism. The overall mortality is less than 5%, but severe acute pancreatitis leads to prolonged hospitalization and much higher mortality. There are important differences in disease susceptibility and case fatality rates: the incidence is higher in blacks than in whites, and mortality is higher in older patients than in younger patients. Reports from various countries reveal that the frequency of acute pancreatitis is increasing, perhaps in relation to rising obesity rates, which would increase the likelihood of gallstone pancreatitis. Conversely, mortality rates for acute pancreatitis are declining in many, but not all, reports.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=63149124792&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=63149124792&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11894-009-0016-4
DO - 10.1007/s11894-009-0016-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 19281696
AN - SCOPUS:63149124792
VL - 11
SP - 97
EP - 103
JO - Current Gastroenterology Reports
JF - Current Gastroenterology Reports
SN - 1522-8037
IS - 2
ER -