CRITERIA FOR DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE-PANCREATITIS IN JAPAN AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

The Japanese grading system for severity of acute pancreatitis has evo lved from results of a national survey on 2,553 patients managed in 52 3 major medical centers in Japan between 1982 and 1986. It was devised to embrace the predictive factors that would offer high sensitivity a nd specificity in rendering an accurate diagnosis. In this system, com puted tomographic (CT) examination is used for estimating the severity of acute pancreatitis. Combining criteria from laboratory data, clini cal signs, and CT findings, the system appears cumbersome. However, it is actually more flexible in that only few criteria, from the wide ra nge of findings actually covered, are needed to predict severity. Its rationale stems from a national effort to improve the outcome of this life-threatening disease. Further prospective studies are needed to de termine its accuracy and superiority.