Complete hemogram: simple and cost-effective in staging and predicting outcome in acute pancreatitis.

Background: An important goal in management of acute pancreatitis (AP) is early prediction and recognition of disease severity. Various predictive scoring systems are in clinical use with their own limitations and there is always a quest for simple, practical, quantifiable, dynamic and readily available markers for predicting disease severity and outcome. Complete hemogram is routinely ordered in all patients with AP.