Patient-Initiated and ConTrolled Oral Refeeding (PICTOR)

The first step in treating patients with acute pancreatitis is to provide pain relief and intravenous fluids to keep them comfortable. As the pain subsides and patient starts to feel better food and fluids by mouth are restarted. This is done to rest the pancreas which is the organ that has been inflamed. In some patients when food by mouth restarts they have pain and as a consequence they have a longer stay in hospital. It is thought that patients who have little pain and are within 24 hours of admission to hospital do well if they control their own food intake. This is in contrast to the usual treatment where the treating team advise when eating should restart.