[Antibiotic prophylaxis in acute pancreatitis].

In most patients, acute pancreatitis (AP) is a mild self-limiting disease, however for about 20% patients with clinically severe acute pancreatitis it is a live treating disease with 30% mortality. Mortality increases in patient with sterile necrosis and especially when infection has occurred. Prevention and optimal treatment of infection in AP have become a principal therapeutic target for improving the outcome of this disease. Several controlled clinical trials, often controversial, demonstrated a significant reduction of hospital mortality. In this article, we review the current opinion of the antibiotics treatment in AP.