Guidelines for treatment of severe acute pancreatitis.

Severe acute pancreatitis is a disease of rapid onset and progression with high mortality and morbidity. A new concept suggests that it is multifactorially induced and involves multi-links and that therapy must be directed to several more important links at the same time. The regimen of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine acts on the same or different sites and links to inhibit or block the inflammatory cascades. Concomitantly, preventive measures were taken at the start of the treatment for preventing the progression of the disease, protecting the function of vital organs, and avoiding the occurrence of complications. No mortality or serious complications occurred in a series of 38 patients with Balthazar's CT grading of D and E. The treatment regimen and the mechanisms of actions of these drugs were delineated in detail in the tables and figure; the regimen is highly recommended for clinical use.