Pancreatitis Flashcards
what are the 2 separate functions of the pancreas?
endocrine and exocrine
its endocrine function?
its exocrine function?
- produce insulin
- digestive enzymes
the number 1 cause of acute and chronic pancreatitis is___
alcohol
Why are the enzymes in the pancreas innactive?
because they are digestive enzymes, and we don’t wanna digest the pancreas.
when the enzymes get ready to activate, they must go to the pancreatic ___ and then are secreted into the____ in order to activate.
duct; small intestine.
How does alcohol damage the pancreas?
the alcohol irritates it and create scar tissue, therefore they can occlude the pancreatic duct and then the pancreatic enzymes have trouble passing through to be activated in the small intestine. when this happens, the enzymes get tired of waiting and they just go ahead and activate within the pancreas. (they start digesting the pancreas itself)
1st sign is___
pain
does the pain increase or decrease with eating? why?
increase because when you eat, you make more enzymes
why is this patient prone to getting ascites?
damaged capillaries
will you be able to feel an abdominal mass?
yes; it’s just the swollen pancreas
if this patient is guarding their abdomen or have a rigid board-like abdomen, they may be____
bleeding internally
bruising in pancreatitis around the umbilical area is called___
cullen’s sign
bruising in the flank area is called____
gray turner’s sign
T OR F? When 1 part of the GI tract gets sick, can you expect the other parts to get involved as well?
yes
why would this patient experience hypotension?
bleeding and ascites
serum ___ and___ will go up.
lipase; amylase (digestive enzymes)
you’re not suppose to have digestive enzymes in your blood. they are suppose to be in your intestines.
why would you expect their blood sugar to increase?
because the pancreas is responsible to insulin secretions but it is dysfunctional now, so the glucose will go un-metabolized. you can be a diabetic forever now.
SGOT and SGPT are both___
WHAT IS THE AST TEST? (liver enzymes) This blood test measures an enzyme called aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Enzymes are chemicals that help the cells of your body work. AST is found in red blood cells, liver cells, and muscle cells, including the heart. It is released into the blood when these cells are damaged. This enzyme is also called serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, or SGOT they’ll both increase
would pt and ptt get shorter or longer? why?
longer; risk for bleeding
Expect the serum billirubin to___
increase
what could make this patient’s H & H go up?
go down?
up= dehydrated due to concentrated
down= bleeding (it would come right out with the blood)
TREATMENT:
- Why would you keep this patient NPO?
- when it comes to pancreatitis, how do we want to keep the patient’s stomach’?
- why would we want bed rest?
- since they get increased pain when they eat, it would hurt less. plus, we would decrease gastric secretions.
- we want the stomach to be empty and dry. (NGT tube to suction)
- bed rest decreases stomach secretions
THEEEE drug of choice for pancreatitis pain control (on NCLEX) is___
demerol (meripidine)- a narcotic
Why would this patient be prescribed steroids?
why can this be a problem?
to decrease inflammation; they’ll have a higher chance of getting diabetes because steroid will increase the blood sugar even more (can also develop cushing’s syndrom)
