Radiology of acute pancreatitis today: the Atlanta classification and the current role of imaging in its diagnosis and treatment

Radiologia (Engl Ed). 2019 Nov-Dec;61(6):453-466. doi: 10.1016/j.rx.2019.04.001. Epub 2019 May 29.
[Article in English, Spanish]

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis is common and requires multidisciplinary management. The revised Atlanta classification, published in 2012, defines the terminology necessary to enable specialists from different backgrounds to discuss the morphological and clinical types of acute pancreatitis. Radiologists' role depends fundamentally on computed tomography (CT), which makes it possible to classify the morphology of this disease and to predict its clinical severity by applying imaging severity indices. Furthermore, CT- or ultrasound-guided drainage is, together with endoscopy, the current technique of choice in the initial approach to collections that appear as a complication. This paper aims to disseminate the concepts coined in the revised Atlanta classification and to describe the current role of radiologists in the diagnosis and treatment of acute pancreatitis.

Keywords: Aspiración con aguja fina; Clasificación; Classification; Drenaje percutáneo; Fine-needle aspiration; Multidetector computed tomography; Pancreatitis; Percutaneous drainage; Tomografía computarizada multidetector.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acute Disease
  • Humans
  • Multidetector Computed Tomography*
  • Pancreatitis / classification
  • Pancreatitis / diagnostic imaging*
  • Pancreatitis / therapy*