Inflammatory Diseases of the Digestive System Codexery

Acute pancreatitis

Sudden pancreatic inflammation with varied causes and treatments.

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Acute pancreatitis

scientificanimations.com · CC BY-SA 4.0

Gallstones are the primary cause of acute pancreatitis.[1] For mild cases, standard management includes intravenous fluids, pain relief, and starting enteral nutrition early.[2]

Ultrasonography of acute pancreatitis
Ultrasonography of acute pancreatitis. Image: Dr. Dileep Kumar Jha, , Dr. Mahesh Vadel, Dr. Rahul Sharma · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick Facts

Field
Gastroenterology, general surgery

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The abdominal pain is most often in the left upper quadrant, epigastric area, or around the umbilicus.[3] Grey-Turner's sign or Cullen's sign are associated with severe disease but occur in less than 1% of cases.[4] The Revised Atlanta Classification requires two of three findings: abdominal pain, elevated amylase or lipase over three times normal, or imaging consistent with pancreatitis.[5] Between 1961 and 2016, the global rate of acute pancreatitis rose by an average of 3% each year.[6]

3D Medical Animation Acute Pancreatitis
3D Medical Animation Acute Pancreatitis. Image: https://www.scientificanimations.com · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and a low to moderate fever are frequent symptoms of acute pancreatitis.[3] Long-term consequences of acute pancreatitis can include type 3c diabetes, and 35% of patients develop exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.[7]

What the research sources say

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states that acute pancreatitis usually starts with pain that begins slowly or suddenly in the upper abdomen and may spread to the back.[1] That source also notes that other symptoms can include fever, nausea, vomiting, fast heartbeat, and a swollen or tender abdomen.[1] The same source lists gallstones, heavy alcohol use, genetic disorders, and certain medicines as common causes of both acute and chronic pancreatitis.[1] It adds that severe pancreatitis symptoms requiring immediate care include severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, and jaundice.[1]

References

  1. "Symptoms & Causes of Pancreatitis", The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. facts only, no text reused. niddk.nih.gov
  2. Wikipedia, "Acute pancreatitis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mederos, "Acute Pancreatitis: A Review", JAMA, 26 January 2021, p. 382–390 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Acute pancreatitis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mederos, "Acute Pancreatitis: A Review", JAMA, 26 January 2021, p. 382–390; "Pancreatitis", Mayo Clinic; Quinlan, "Acute pancreatitis.", American Family Physician, 1 November 2014, p. 632–9; Mederos, "Acute Pancreatitis: A Review", JAMA, 26 January 2021, p. 382–390; Quinlan, "Acute pancreatitis.", American Family Physician, 1 November 2014, p. 632–9; Quinlan, "Acute pancreatitis.", American Family Physician, 1 November 2014, p. 632–9; "Symptoms & Causes of Pancreatitis", The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Dis en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Acute pancreatitis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wright, "Cullen Sign and Grey Turner Sign Revisited", Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, 1 June 2016, p. 398–401; Zeng, "Incidence and prognostic role of pleural effusion in patients with acute pancreatitis: a meta-analysis", Annals of Medicine, 12 December 2023; Sriram Bhat M, "SRB's Clinical Methods in Surgery", JP Medical Ltd, 2018-10-31, p. 488– (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Acute pancreatitis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mederos, "Acute Pancreatitis: A Review", JAMA, 26 January 2021, p. 382–390; "American College of Gastroenterology guideline: management of acute pancreatitis", The American Journal of Gastroenterology, September 2013, p. 1400–15; 1416; Mederos, "Acute Pancreatitis: A Review", JAMA, 26 January 2021, p. 382–390; "Lipase/amylase ratio. A new index that distinguishes acute episodes of alcoholic from nonalcoholic acute pancreatitis", Gastroenterology, November 1991, p. 1361–6; "Practice guidelines in acute pancreatitis", The American Jour en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Acute pancreatitis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Iannuzzi, "Global Incidence of Acute Pancreatitis Is Increasing Over Time: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis", Gastroenterology, January 2022, p. 122–134; Mederos, "Acute Pancreatitis: A Review", JAMA, 26 January 2021, p. 382–390 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Acute pancreatitis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mederos, "Acute Pancreatitis: A Review", JAMA, 26 January 2021, p. 382–390; Mederos, "Acute Pancreatitis: A Review", JAMA, 26 January 2021, p. 382–390 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Acute pancreatitis (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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