A pancreatic abscess is an area filled with pus within the pancreas.

Pancreatic abscesses develop in people who have:

• Pancreatic pseudocysts
• Severe pancreatitis that becomes infected

Symptoms include:

• Abdominal mass
• Abdominal pain
• Chills
• Fever
• Inability to eat
• Nausea and vomiting

Most people with pancreatic abscesses have had pancreatitis. However, the complication often takes 7 or more days to develop.

Signs of an abscess can be seen on:

• CT scan of the abdomen
• MRI of the abdomen
• Ultrasound of the abdomen

Blood tests will show high white blood cell count. A blood culture may grow bacteria.

It may be possible to drain the abscess through the skin (percutaneous). Abscess drainage can be done through an endoscope using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in some cases. Surgery to drain the abscess and remove dead tissue is often needed.

How well a person does depends on how severe the infection is. The death rate from undrained pancreatic abscesses is very high.

Complications may include:

• Multiple abscesses
• Sepsis

Contact your health care provider if you have:

• Abdominal pain with fever
• Other signs of a pancreatic abscess, especially if you have recently had a pancreatic pseudocyst or pancreatitis

Draining a pancreatic pseudocyst may help prevent some cases of pancreatic abscess. However, in many cases, the disorder is not preventable.

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