Objective: To describe the clinical, laboratory, imaging characteristics and to investigate several factors associated with the severity of pediatric acute pancreatitis.
Subjects and Methods: This descriptive study included 42 pediatric patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis and classified according to the 2012 Revised Atlanta Classification at the Pediatric Center, Hue Central Hospital, from January 2023 to August 2025.
Results: The male-to-female ratio was 1.2:1; 69% of children with acute pancreatitis were aged ≥6 years, and 76.2% had normal nutritional status. The proportions of mild, moderately severe, and severe acute pancreatitis were 35.7%, 59.5%, and 4.8%, respectively. Overweight children had a higher proportion of moderately severe-to-severe acute pancreatitis compared with those with mild acute pancreatitis (p<0.05). Abdominal pain was present in all patients, whereas vomiting occurred in only 64.3% of cases. Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) was associated with the severity of pediatric acute pancreatitis (p<0.05). Children with moderately severe-to-severe acute pancreatitis had higher rates of leukocytosis and neutrophilia, lower median ionized calcium levels, and higher median blood glucose levels than those with mild acute pancreatitis (p<0.05). In addition, significant differences in ultrasonographic findings were observed according to the severity of pediatric acute pancreatitis (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Differences were observed in the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and in hematological parameters (white blood cell count and neutrophil count) as well as biochemical parameters (ionized calcium and blood glucose levels) between the mild acute pancreatitis group and the moderately severe–severe acute pancreatitis group.