Description

Acute pancreatitis has an annual incidence of 13-45 cases per 100,000 persons and is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders requiring hospitalization worldwide. It leads to over a quarter of a million hospital admissions annually in the United States, and inpatient costs exceeding 2.5 billion US dollars. Pancreatic fluid collections can occur as a consequence of acute and chronic pancreatitis and can result in significant morbidity and mortality, including significant abdominal pain, gastric outlet obstruction, biliary obstruction, organ failure, persistent unwellness, infection and sepsis.

Symptomatic pancreatic fluid collections require treatment, and endoscopic drainage is considered standard of care. Endoscopic treatment involves the drainage of the fluid collection into the stomach or duodenum by placement of metal or plastic stents. If clinically indicated, endoscopic necrosectomy is also performed, which is the removal of devitalized pancreatic tissue using the endoscope. Currently the treatment success rate of endoscopic treatment of pancreatic fluid collections exceeds 90%.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the treatment outcomes in patients undergoing standard of care, endoscopic treatment of pancreatic fluid collections.