Acute pancreatitis: a comparison of intervention rates precipitated by early vs guideline CT scan timing

•Zero intervention rate in early scanning adds clinical support to the existing guidelines regarding CT in acute pancreatitis.•After early scanning, patients often require repeat scans in the same admission.•Avoiding early CT scanning in acute pancreatitis saves resources without impacting on patient care.

AimTo assess whether computed tomography (CT) examination earlier in acute pancreatitis (AP) precipitates any surgical or radiological intervention.Materials and methodsA single-centre retrospective cohort study comparing intervention rates in AP precipitated by early (<6 day of admission, n=100) and UK guideline (≥6 day of admission, n=103) CT examinations.ResultsNo intervention was precipitated by performing CT before the sixth day of admission in AP. A statistically significant larger number of interventions were precipitated when CT was performed on the sixth day or later (p<0.05). Of note, this study was conducted using day of admission, rather than day of symptom onset. Six patients underwent repeat CT examination in the same admission after an early CT examination.ConclusionPerforming CT before the sixth day of admission does not lead to earlier intervention. Such early examinations waste resources and may offer false reassurance to clinicians.