Background/aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of technical details of percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) on the clinical outcomes of patients with infected necrotizing pancreatitis (INP). Materials and methods: A total of 44 INP patients treated in our hospital from October 2013 to October 2015 were included. The correlations of the first PCD treatment data and the clinical outcomes were analyzed. Results: The number of catheters was positively correlated with hospital readmission (r = 0.335, P = 0.032). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that patients with 3 catheters were more likely to have hospital readmission. Patients with pleural effusion undergoing thoracentesis were snore likely to have new intensive care unit admission (P = 0.025) and bleeding in need of intervention (P = 0.032). Patients with more effusion regions had higher incidences of mortality (P = 0.012) and new intensive care unit admissions (2.44 +/- 1.03 vs. 1.88 +/- 0.80; P = 0.059). Patients with PCD only were less likely to have new intensive care unit admissions (22.22% vs. 54.55%; P = 0.038) than those with PCD + small incision or/and videoscopic assisted retroperitoneal debridement. Conclusion: Number of catheters greater than three was associated with unfavorable outcomes of PCD treatment in INP patients. Patients that received PCD treatment only had better outcomes.