Abstract: OBJECTIVE To explore the risk factors and etiological characteristics of abdominal infections in patients with acute pancreatitis so as to provide guidance for clinical prevention and treatment of the abdominal infections.METHODS A total of 187 patients with acute pancreatitis who were treated in the hospital from Jan 2011 to Jun 2016 were retrospectively analyzed, the risk factors for the abdominal infections in the acute pancreatitis patients with different clinical characteristics were observed, and the distribution of major species of pathogens was analyzed.RESULTS The acute pancreatitis patients who had different pathogenesis varied in the risk of the abdominal infections (P＜0.05).The prevalence rate of the abdominal infections was remarkably increased in the patients with SOFA score no less than 2 points, APACHEⅡ score no less than 8 points, Ranson score no less than 3 points, CTSI score no less than 4 points, damage of organ function, or shock at the admission to hospital (P＜0.05).The multivariate regression analysis indicated that the Ranson score no less than 3 points, CTSI score no less than 4 points, shock, and damage of organ function were the risk factors for the abdominal infections in the patients with acute pancreatitis (P＜0.05).Totally 32 strains of pathogens were isolated from the 18 patients with abdominal infections, including 18 (56.25%) strains of gram-negative bacteria and 14 (43.75%) strains of gram-positive bacteria; Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common species of the gram-negative bacteria, and Staphylococcus aureus was dominant among the gram-positive bacteria.CONCLUSIONThe Ranson score no less than 3 points, CTSI score no less than 4 points, shock, and damage of organ function are the risk factors for the abdominal infections in the patients with acute pancreatitis.The gram-negative bacteria are dominant among the pathogens causing the infections.