Acute Pancreatitis: Causation, Diagnosis, and Classification Using Computed Tomography.

Acute pancreatitis can cause serious but nonspecific symptoms, and rapid diagnosis often is critical for patient outcomes. There are varying causes of acute pancreatitis making diagnosis difficult. A combination of patient history assessment, laboratory tests, and imaging examinations is indicated to diagnose the disease definitively. Computed tomography is the primary tool for diagnosing, classifying, and determining treatment for acute pancreatitis. Various methods of staging acute pancreatitis are used to assist radiologists and other physicians in determining the severity and course of treatment of the disease.