Ranson’s Criteria
Other Known Aliases – none
Definition – clinical decision instrument to predict mortality of acute pancreatitis on admission and after the first 48 hours
Clinical Significance – this was one of the first instruments to help with the initial management of patients with acute pancreatitis. Now, it has been largely been replaced by more accurate and reliable calculations and is taught only for historical purposes.
History – Named after John H. C. Ranson (1938-1995), an English-American surgeon who received his medical doctorate from Oxford University in 1960. He would complete his surgical residency at Bellevue Hospital and New York University Medical Center, where he would join as faculty and later as the Director of the Division of General Surgery. He would have a prolific career primarily focusing on the alimentary tract with concentration on the pancreas. He would publish his eponymous scoring system in 1974 which not only improved the clinical care of patients with pancreatitis, but also improved the quality of the research by finally being able to compare severity groups of treatment arms.
References
- Firkin BG and Whitwirth JA. Dictionary of Medical Eponyms. 2nd ed. New York, NY; Parthenon Publishing Group. 1996.
- Bartolucci S, Forbis P. Stedman’s Medical Eponyms. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD; LWW. 2005.
- Yee AJ, Pfiffner P. (2012). Medical Eponyms (Version 1.4.2) [Mobile Application Software]. Retrieved http://itunes.apple.com.
- Whonamedit – dictionary of medical eponyms. http://www.whonamedit.com
- Up To Date. www.uptodate.com
- Reber HA. Obituary – John H. C. Ranson, Pancreas: April 1996 – Volume 12 – Issue 3 – p 215 [link]
- Ranson JH, Rifkind KM, Roses DF, Fink SD, Eng K, Spencer FC. Prognostic signs and the role of operative management in acute pancreatitis. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1974;139(1):69-81. [link]
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