• Thomas L Bollen, Marc G H Besselink, Hjalmar C van Santvoort, Hein G Gooszen, and Maarten S van Leeuwen.
• Department of Radiology, St. Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. tlbollen@gmail.com
• Pancreas. 2007 Aug 1; 35 (2): 107-13.

ObjectivesThe 1992 Atlanta classification is a clinically based classification system that defines the severity and complications of acute pancreatitis. The purpose of this review was to assess whether the terms abandoned by the Atlanta classification are really discarded in the literature. The second objective was to review what new terms have appeared in the literature since the Atlanta symposium.MethodsWe followed a Medline search strategy in review and guideline articles after the publication of the Atlanta classification. This search included the abandoned terms: "phlegmon," "infected pseudocyst," "hemorrhagic pancreatitis," and "persistent pancreatitis."ResultsA total of 239 publications were reviewed, including 10 guideline articles and 42 reviews. The abandoned terms "hemorrhagic pancreatitis" and "persistent pancreatitis" are hardly encountered, in contrast, both "infected pseudocyst" and "phlegmon" are frequently used, and several authors question their abandonment. New terminology in acute pancreatitis consists of "organized pancreatic necrosis," "necroma," "extrapancreatic necrosis," and "central gland necrosis."ConclusionsThis review demonstrates that the Atlanta classification is still not universally accepted. Several abandoned terms are frequently used, and new terms have emerged that describe manifestations in acute pancreatitis that were not specifically addressed during the Atlanta symposium.

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