Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Contributors
- Part I Clinical Syndromes – General
- Part II Clinical Syndromes – Head and Neck
- Part III Clinical Syndromes – Eye
- Part IV Clinical Syndromes – Skin and Lymph Nodes
- Part V Clinical Syndromes – Respiratory Tract
- Part VI Clinical Syndromes – Heart and Blood Vessels
- Part VII Clinical Syndromes – Gastrointestinal Tract, Liver, and Abdomen
- 42 Acute Viral Hepatitis
- 43 Chronic Hepatitis
- 44 Biliary Infection: Cholecystitis and Cholangitis
- 45 Pyogenic Liver Abscess
- 46 Infectious Complications of Acute Pancreatitis
- 47 Esophageal Infections
- 48 Gastroenteritis
- 49 Food Poisoning
- 50 Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea
- 51 Sexually Transmitted Enteric Infections
- 52 Acute Appendicitis
- 53 Diverticulitis
- 54 Abdominal Abscess
- 55 Splenic Abscess
- 56 Peritonitis
- 57 Whipple's Disease and Sprue
- Part VIII Clinical Syndromes – Genitourinary Tract
- Part IX Clinical Syndromes – Musculoskeletal System
- Part X Clinical Syndromes – Neurologic System
- Part XI The Susceptible Host
- Part XII HIV
- Part XIII Nosocomial Infection
- Part XIV Infections Related to Surgery and Trauma
- Part XV Prevention of Infection
- Part XVI Travel and Recreation
- Part XVII Bioterrorism
- Part XVIII Specific Organisms – Bacteria
- Part XIX Specific Organisms – Spirochetes
- Part XX Specific Organisms – Mycoplasma and Chlamydia
- Part XXI Specific Organisms – Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma
- Part XXII Specific Organisms – Fungi
- Part XXIII Specific Organisms – Viruses
- Part XXIV Specific Organisms – Parasites
- Part XXV Antimicrobial Therapy – General Considerations
- Index
46 - Infectious Complications of Acute Pancreatitis
from Part VII - Clinical Syndromes – Gastrointestinal Tract, Liver, and Abdomen
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Contributors
- Part I Clinical Syndromes – General
- Part II Clinical Syndromes – Head and Neck
- Part III Clinical Syndromes – Eye
- Part IV Clinical Syndromes – Skin and Lymph Nodes
- Part V Clinical Syndromes – Respiratory Tract
- Part VI Clinical Syndromes – Heart and Blood Vessels
- Part VII Clinical Syndromes – Gastrointestinal Tract, Liver, and Abdomen
- 42 Acute Viral Hepatitis
- 43 Chronic Hepatitis
- 44 Biliary Infection: Cholecystitis and Cholangitis
- 45 Pyogenic Liver Abscess
- 46 Infectious Complications of Acute Pancreatitis
- 47 Esophageal Infections
- 48 Gastroenteritis
- 49 Food Poisoning
- 50 Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea
- 51 Sexually Transmitted Enteric Infections
- 52 Acute Appendicitis
- 53 Diverticulitis
- 54 Abdominal Abscess
- 55 Splenic Abscess
- 56 Peritonitis
- 57 Whipple's Disease and Sprue
- Part VIII Clinical Syndromes – Genitourinary Tract
- Part IX Clinical Syndromes – Musculoskeletal System
- Part X Clinical Syndromes – Neurologic System
- Part XI The Susceptible Host
- Part XII HIV
- Part XIII Nosocomial Infection
- Part XIV Infections Related to Surgery and Trauma
- Part XV Prevention of Infection
- Part XVI Travel and Recreation
- Part XVII Bioterrorism
- Part XVIII Specific Organisms – Bacteria
- Part XIX Specific Organisms – Spirochetes
- Part XX Specific Organisms – Mycoplasma and Chlamydia
- Part XXI Specific Organisms – Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma
- Part XXII Specific Organisms – Fungi
- Part XXIII Specific Organisms – Viruses
- Part XXIV Specific Organisms – Parasites
- Part XXV Antimicrobial Therapy – General Considerations
- Index
Summary
Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an acute inflammatory process of the pancreas in which pancreatic enzymes are released and autodigest the gland with effects ranging from edema to necrosis. Acute pancreatitis has a wide spectrum of disease from a mild, transitory illness to a severe, rapidly fatal disease. Approximately 80% of patients with the disease have a mild acute interstitial edematous pancreatitis with a low morbidity and mortality rate (≤1%). Mild pancreatitis is usually self-limiting, subsiding in most cases uneventfully within 3 to 4 days and rarely needing intensive care treatment or pancreatic surgery. Severe or necrotizing pancreatitis develops in about 20% of patients, early death within 1 week of admission is related to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), with infection of pancreatic and peripancreatic necrosis representing the single most important risk factor for a fatal outcome. Overall, AP is complicated by infection in approximately 10% of patients and is associated with 70% to 80% mortality. The greater the amount of necrotic reaction, the greater the risk of subsequent infection of the gland.
The prognosis and severity of a pancreatitis attack may be assessed by monitoring clinical signs and symptoms. The clinical findings in severe disease may include the presence of hypotension, hypoxemia, renal failure, and hemo-concentration reflective of intravascular volume loss. Other findings may include abdominal pain and nausea, fever (>38.6°C [101.5°F]), ascites, and ecchymosis.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Clinical Infectious Disease , pp. 331 - 338Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008