Imaging and intervention in acute pancreatitis.

An International Symposium was held in Atlanta in 1992 to present the state of the art of diagnostic evaluation and management of acute pancreatitis and to agree on an acceptable series of clinical definitions for classifying the disease and its complications. The symposium was composed of 40 internationally recognized experts in pancreatic disease from 15 countries representing six disciplines (anatomy, gastroenterology, internal medicine, pathology, radiology, and surgery). The purpose of this article is to present the radiologically relevant aspects of the symposium; to define the state of the art of imaging and intervention in acute pancreatitis, particularly how and when to use computed tomography and how and when to perform percutaneous therapy versus surgery; and to encourage radiologists to use precise and proper nomenclature when describing the morphologic manifestations of acute pancreatitis as depicted by various imaging modalities.