Staging of acute pancreatitis - Is it important?

Staging of AP is important for selection of patients for clinical trials, comparison of results between centers, and the early identification of patients who may benefit from therapeutic intervention or transfer to a specialist unit. The acute physiologic assessment and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score and the multiple factor scoring systems are widely used for the first two indications and, of these, the APACHE II score provides the best accuracy at an early stage in the course of the illness. At present, however, no system provides sufficient predictive power to facilitate clinical decision making. At a time of increasing pressure to involve specialist units at an early stage in the management of these patients, there remains a pressing need to identify a system for early staging of AP.