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Minerva Medica 2005 April;96(2):109-20

Copyright © 2005 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English, Italian

Acute pancreatitis in emergency department

Colombo G. M., Sacco T., Cicchinelli M.

Acute abdominal pain is one of the most frequent conditions in patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED). Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common abdominal disorder with problematic diagnosis because of the lack of a gold standard diagnostic test. Determina-tion of serum amylase levels was considered a screening test, but recent studies have shown an important group of emergency department patients who have normoamylasemia. Other clinical laboratory tests, such as urinary screening, could be useful to decrease misdiagnosed cases of AP in an emergency situation, whereas, to confirm the clinical suspicious, radiological imaging may add specificity. On admission in ED stratifying patients into different categories, according to severity score systems, may be helpful for an appropriate management.