Searching the Best Prognostic Factor in Out Come Evaluation in Patients With Acute Pancreatitis Admitted at Assiut University Hospitals

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is rapid-onset inflammation of the pancreas that varies in severity from a self-limiting mild illness to rapidly progressive multiple organ failure. Statistics suggest that 10-20% of patients with AP develop severe AP (SAP),1 which usually has an unfavourable disease progression and is associated with a poor prognosis. The two most common and important causes of acute pancreatitis are gallstones (40-70%) and alcohol (25-35%) Gallstone pancreatitis is usually due to an obstructing stone in the pancreatic duct near the sphincter of Oddi . In alcohol-related pancreatitis, it is believed that the acinar cells of the pancreas are susceptible to damage by ethanol and underlie the etiology of the disease . Another common cause, iatrogenic pancreatitis, may occur after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in up to 5% of patients. Other etiologies of acute pancreatitis include medications, infections, trauma, hereditary, hypertriglyceridemia and autoimmune disease.