Impact of timing of presentation of acute pancreatitis to a tertiary care centre on the outcome.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Despite improvement in outcomes of acute pancreatitis (AP), some subgroups remain at increased risk. We studied the impact of onset-to-admission interval to a tertiary care centre on outcomes in AP.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with first episode of AP admitted between 2009 and 2017 on the basis of onset-to-admission interval: ≤7 days, 8-21 days and >21 days was done. Patients were assessed for severity and managed using a step-up approach. Primary outcome measures were surgical necrosectomy and mortality.

RESULTS

Of 745 patients (age 39.26 ± 13.18 yrs, 69% male), 380 (51%) had presented ≤7 days, 229 (30.7%) between 8 and 21 days and 136 (18.3%) >21 days after pain onset. Severe pancreatitis was highest in 8-21 days group (129; 56.3%) followed by ≤ 7 days (166; 43.7%) and >21 days of illness (52; 38.2%).Surgical intervention rates were highest in the 8-21 days group(14%) followed by > 21 days (12.5%) and ≤7 days (6.6%) respectively (p = 0.007). Also, mortality was highest in patients with onset to admission interval of 8-21 days (24%) followed by > 21 days (15.4%) and ≤7 days (14.2%) (P = 0.007). On the multivariate analysis, age, late presentation, and the presence of organ failure were found to predict the mortality.

CONCLUSION

Patients presenting between 8 and 21 days after onset perform poorly than those presenting earlier or later than them in terms of severity, organ failure, need for surgery and mortality although organ failure remains the most important determinant of outcome. This data can help in devising guidelines for referral of such patients.