Acute pancreatitis

Question 1

What is acute pancreatitis

Answer 1

Inflammation of the pancreas which can be severe & life-threatening

Question 2

Proposed causes (3)

Answer 2

• autodigestion of pancreas
• men: commonly linked to alcoholism, trauma or peptic ulcer
• women: mainly linked to biliary tract disease

Question 3

Clinical manifestations

Answer 3

• abdominal tenderness
• nausea
• vomitting
• reduced bowel sounds
• steady, boring pain in the left upper quadrant, radiating to the back
• low grade fever
• if severe: (+) s.s of circulatory instability, respiratory insufficiency, shock

Question 4

Diagnostic tests

Answer 4

• serum amylase & lipase
• renal function test
• CT scan: gold standard
• ERCP

Question 5

Management

Answer 5

• pain relief
• analgesics
• for pts w sepsis: empirical antibiotics
• NBM thus need to maintain sufficient fluid & nutrition intake