Acute pancreatitis: a comparison of intervention rates precipitated by early vs guideline CT scan timing

Abstract

To assess whether computed tomography (CT) examination earlier in acute pancreatitis (AP) precipitates any surgical or radiological intervention. A single-centre retrospective cohort study comparing intervention rates in AP precipitated by early (<6 day of admission, n=100) and UK guideline (≥6 day of admission, n=103) CT examinations. No intervention was precipitated by performing CT before the sixth day of admission in AP. A statistically significant larger number of interventions were precipitated when CT was performed on the sixth day or later (p<0.05). Of note, this study was conducted using day of admission, rather than day of symptom onset. Six patients underwent repeat CT examination in the same admission after an early CT examination. Performing CT before the sixth day of admission does not lead to earlier intervention. Such early examinations waste resources and may offer false reassurance to clinicians.