Magnetic resonance imaging versus Acute Physiology And Chronic Healthy Evaluation II score in predicting the severity of acute pancreatitis.
OBJECTIVE
To study the correlation between established magnetic resonance (MR) imaging criteria of disease severity in acute pancreatitis and the Acute Physiology And Chronic Healthy Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, and to assess the utility of each prognostic indicators in acute pancreatitis.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this study there were 94 patients with acute pancreatitis (AP), all had abdominal MR imaging. MR findings were categorized into edematous and necrotizing AP and graded according to the MR severity index (MRSI). The APACHE II score was calculated within 24h of admission, and local complications, death, duration of hospitalization and ICU were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed to determine their correlation.


RESULTS
In patients with pancreatitis, no significant correlation can be found between the APACHE II score and the MRSI score (P=0.196). The MRSI score correlated well with morbidity (P=0.006) but not with mortality (P=0.137). The APACHE II score correlated well with mortality (P=0.002) but not with the morbidity (P=0.112). The MRSI score was superior to the APACHE II score as a predictor of the length of hospitalization (r=0.52 vs. r=0.35). A high MRSI and APACHE II score correlated with the need for being in the intensive care unit (ICU) (P=0.000 and P=0.000, respectively).


CONCLUSION
In patients with pancreatitis, MRSI is superior to APACHE II in assessing local complications from pancreatitis but has a limited role in determining systemic complications in which the APACHE II score excels.