INFECTED PANCREATIC NECROSIS AND PERIPANCREATIC FLUID COLLECTIONS - SERENDIPITOUS RESPONSE TO ANTIBIOTICS AND MEDICAL THERAPY IN 3 PATIENTS

Three patients with clinical and radiologic evidence of pancreatic nec rosis or peripancreatic fluid collections/inflammatory masses who were advised to have surgery on the basis of bacterial infection on skinny -needle aspiration of the pancreas but were deemed medically unstable or refused operative intervention were treated with intensive antibiot ic therapy. All three patients survived the attack of acute pancreatit is with infection on medical therapy alone. This suggests that occasio nal patients with infected necrosis and/or peripancreatic collections/ inflammatory masses may respond to antibiotics, especially those antib iotics that have recently been shown to have a high penetration into p ancreatic tissue.