The Glasgow Pancreatitis Score evaluates how severe pancreatitis is, based on seven laboratory investigations performed in the first 48 hours after hospital admission and on a risk weighting based on patient age.

The score is also known as Imrie’s criteria and applies to both pancreatitis of biliary and alcoholic source.

The 8 severity risk factors accounted for in the score are:

■ Age >55 years;

■ Serum albumin <32 g/L (3.2 g/dL);

■ Arterial PO2 on room air <8 kPa (60 mmHg);

■ Serum calcium <2 mmols/L (8 mg/dL);

■ Blood glucose >10.0 mmols/L (180 mg/dL);

■ Serum LDH >600 units/L;

■ Serum urea nitrogen >16.1 mmols/L (45 mg/dL);

■ WBC count >15 x 109/L (15 x 103/microlitre).

The 8 items in the Glasgow pancreatitis score calculator are known to form the acronym pancreas: partial pressure oxygen, age, neutrophils, calcium, renal function, enzymes, albumin and sugar.

Scoring method

Each of the 8 items in the score are awarded 1 point when present, for example when “Serum LDH >600 units/L”.

The total score ranges from 0 to 8, the higher the score, the greater the AP severity.

There is a cut off for increased likelihood of severity at 2 points, where every value above indicates severe AP.

Scores above 3 also indicate that the patient is likely to require admission to ICU.

The table below introduces the correlation between scores and mortality risk:
Glasgow pancreatitis score Predicted mortality
0 - 2 2%
3, 4 15%
5, 6 40%
7, 8 100%