ERCP induced and non-ERCP-induced acute pancreatitis: Two distinct clinical entities?

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common gastrointestinal disease of varied etiology; however, the most common causes of AP are gallstones and alcohol abuse. AP has emerged as the most frequent complication after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Post-ERCP pancreatitis is generally a clinically irrelevant condition; however, it can be severe or even fatal in up to 0.8% of cases. Different clinical courses and outcomes have been observed between mild and severe AP of different etiologies (i.e., non-ERCP AP and post-ERCP AP), which opens the discussion as to whether they are the same or distinct clinical entities.