Sensitivity, specificity and reliability of the POP score vs. APACHE II score as predictors of severe acute biliary pancreatitis.

Background: The APACHE II score predicts severity of acute pancreatitis, although it requires the collection of a large number of parameters. The paediatric observation priority (POP) score proposed to stratify the risk of severity requires few parameters and the variables are collected in the first 24 h.

Objective: To compare POP and APACHE II scores as predictors of the severity of pancreatitis on admission.