Abstract
For the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, the measurement of serum amylase is widely employed and it provides acceptable accuracy. The determination of serum lipase is more reliable, but lipase assay has some problems. A urinary dip stick for trypsinogen-2, with very high sensitivity and specificity, has been developed and it may be an ideal method for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Imaging study is useful for the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen. Ultrasonography is often unhelpful because the pancreas can be visualized in only half of the patients with acute pancreatitis. Pancreatic imaging by contrast enhanced CT is very useful for the diagnosis and stratification of the severity of acute pancreatitis, but the use of contrast media may have undesirable effects on such patients.
