Treatment of Mild Acute Pancreatitis and Prevention of Post-Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Pancreatitis

The treatment of mild acute pancreatitis (AP) is largely supportive and includes the administration of fluids intravenously, pain medications, antiemetics, and bowel rest until nausea and vomiting have resolved and narcotics are not required for pain control. Several medications have been studied with the goal to improve patient outcomes, avoid complications associated with pancreatitis, and reduce the time needed for recovery. However, to date, there is no medication proven to alter the course of the disease. This data, as well as the limited data available for the initiation of analgesics and feeding, are reviewed in this chapter. Additionally, the literature on prophylaxis of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) pancreatitis is reviewed. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.