Efficacy of Early Percutaneous Catheter Drainage in Acute Pancreatitis of Varying Severity Associated With Sterile Acute Inflammatory Pancreatic Fluid Collection.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of early percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) for sterile acute inflammatory pancreatic fluid collection (AIPFC) in acute pancreatitis (AP) of varying severity.

Methods: Retrospective analyses were performed based on the presence of sterile AIPFC and different AP severities according to 2012 Revised Atlanta Classification.

Results: Early PCD contributed to obvious decreases in operation rate (OR, P = 0.006), infection rate (IR, P = 0.020), and mortality (P = 0.009) in severe AP (SAP). In moderate SAP with sterile AIPFCs, however, early PCD was associated with increased OR (P = 0.009) and IR (P = 0.040). Subgroup analysis revealed that early PCD led to remarkable decreases in OR for patients with persistent organ failure (OF) within 3 days (P = 0.024 for single OF, P = 0.039 for multiple OF) and in mortality for patients with multiple OF (P = 0.041 for OF within 3 days and P = 0.055 for 3-14 days). Moreover, lower mortality was found in SAP patients with early PCD-induced infections than with spontaneous infections (P = 0.027).

Conclusions: Early PCD may improve the prognosis of SAP with drainable sterile AIPFCs by reducing the OR, IR, and mortality.