Chronic pancreatitis is a difficult disease to treat. Worldwide, alcohol is the most common aetiology but based on recent studies it is clear that genetic susceptibility plays an important role in determining disease. Several important genetic mutations have been identified. The prevalence of chronic pancreatitis appears to be lower in Asia although very high rates have been reported in parts of India. Severe intractable pain is the predominant presenting complaint of patients. The natural history of the disease and the onset of exocrine and endocrine insufficiency depend on the classification of disease as early onset, late-onset or alcohol associated. Complications of chronic pancreatitis are important and include pseudocyst formation, bile duct and duodenal strictures.
The utility of early endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) ± endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) in the treatment of gallstone pancreatitis (GSP) is still contentious.
A bleeding pseudoaneurysm of the peripancreatic artery can present with massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. History of pancreatitis and urgent imaging are crucial in the making of the diagnosis. Here, we report a patient with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis presented with ruptured pseudoaneurysm of gastroduodenal artery (GDA). He was treated with percutaneous angiographic embolisation.
This review describes some of the mechanisms which are thought to be important in the causation of pain in chronic pancreatitis. Both medical and surgical techniques for treating this pain are described.
We analyzed the characteristics of patients presenting with acute pancreatitis to our unit. A total of 71 patients were admitted to the Surgical Department at University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) over a period of seven years, between January 1990 to December 1996 with acute pancreatitis. There was a fourfold increase in incidence of acute pancreatitis in our hospital from January 1990 to December 1996. The commonest identifiable aetiology was gallstones followed by alcohol. There were two deaths. We conclude that acute pancreatitis is increasingly being diagnosed in our local population. This may be due to either greater awareness or changes in lifestyle of the population.
Two patients who had acute pancreatitis subsequently developed characteristic appearance on urography of smooth extrinsic narrowing and medial deviation of the right ureter suggestive of retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) resulting in ureteric obstruction. Both these patients had clinical, biochemical and sonographic evidence of acute pancreatitis. CT scan of the abdomen performed on the second patient also documented acute pancreatitis. Intravenous urograms were consistent with ureteric obstruction due to retroperitoneal fibrosis. Both cases were treated conservatively. They were well after an average of 20 months. These 2 cases illustrate the uncommon association between pancreatitis and RPF.
Progressively transformed germinal centers (PTGC) is a benign process characterised by a morphological variant of reactive follicular hyperplasia in lymph nodes. It was recently shown that some cases of PTGC are associated with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) or increased IgG4 plasma cells. Five years ago, a 57-year-old woman presented with enlargement of multiple lymph nodes in the left parotid, submandibular, and neck areas, pathologically diagnosed as PTGC after excisional biopsy. Since then, she has experienced numbness in her extremities, especially the left shoulder and arm, pruritus on the left side of the face and intermittent facial palsy, for which she has been receiving regular symptomatic treatment. Recently the patient developed diabetes mellitus (approximately seven months ago). In routine follow-up scans, a mass was detected in left kidney and magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen prior to surgery revealed a slightly enhanced bulky mass replacing the pancreatic tail and uncinate process. The mass in left kidney was diagnosed as clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and the pathological features of the pancreatic lesion were those of IgG4-related chronic fibrosing pancreatitis. Retrograde examination of the neck lymph node diagnosed as PTGC showed increased deposition of IgG4-positive plasma cells.
Acute pancreatitis is considered to be an extremely rare extrahepatic manifestation of acute viral hepatitis E. The incidence is reported to be around 5%-6% in the available case series. It has usually been reported in non-fulminant cases of acute viral hepatitis E in the second or third week of illness, with a favourable outcome. Here, we report the case of a young male subject with acute viral hepatitis E presenting as acute pancreatitis at its onset and exhibiting a prolonged recovery phase. To the authors' knowledge, such a presentation of acute viral hepatitis E as acute pancreatitis at its inception has been only sparsely reported in the available literature.
Tuberculosis, in its extrapulmonary form, though emerging as a common clinical problem, rarely affects the pancreas. Its indolent course, vague symptomatology along with its non-specific laboratory and radiographic findings call for greater vigilance. We report a case of pancreatic tuberculosis, previously managed as recurrent alcohol related pancreatitis which showed symptomatic improvement following commencement of antituberculosis drugs. The diagnosis of pancreatic tuberculosis in this case was based on the abdominal CT scan findings, response to anti-tubeculous chemotherapy and overall laboratory and radiological work-up.
The cause and effect relationship between acute pancreatitis and primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) still evokes controversy. Our paper reviews the debate in the medical literature. In this controversy we add a case of a 49-year old non-alcoholic man presenting with recurrent attacks of acute pancreatitis. His raised serum calcium was realized rather late. Eventually, high intact parathyroid hormone levels led to open neck exploration and finding of a solitary parathyroid adenoma. Post-surgery, serum calcium returned to normal and abdominal symptoms disappeared. The case report and the accompanying literature review support our belief, that acute pancreatitis is one of the symptoms of pHPT often caused by a parathyroid adenoma and curable by its excision.
There is very little information in literature describing ethnic variations in etiologic and clinical outcome of acute pancreatitis in the Asian population. This study describes the demographic, etiologic and clinical course of acute pancreatitis among the three main races in Malaysia namely, the Malays, Chinese and Indians. One hundred and thirty-three consecutive patients were admitted for acute pancreatitis for the period January 1994 to July 1999 and they consisted of 77 males and 56 females with a mean age of 43.5 years (SD+/- 14.7). The racial breakdown of acute pancreatitis was: Malays 38 (28.6%), Chinese 19 (14.3%), Indians 75 (56.4%) and 1 (0.8%) patient was an orang asli. The incidence of alcohol association with acute pancreatitis was significantly increased in the males, while gallstone pancreatitis was principally a disease of the female. Alcohol was identified as the predominant factor associated with acute pancreatitis among the Indians (73.3%) and in contrast, gallstone was the commonest associated etiologic factor for the Malays and Chinese. No etiologic factor could be identified in a substantial proportion of the Malay patients (60.5%) when compared to the Chinese (36.8%) and Indians (35%). Severe disease developed in 25% of the cases reviewed but there was no difference in of the rate of severe pancreatitis in terms of ethnic groupings or etiologic factors. The overall mortality rate was 7.5% and the commonest cause of death was multi-organ failure. The study recognises that there are differences in the characteristics of acute pancreatitis among the three major races in the country and this divergence is primarily due to sociocultural habits.
We report a rare case of a gastric duplication cyst in the tail of the pancreas in a child presenting with chronic abdominal pain which was cured by excision of the cyst and adjacent pancreas. This case report highlights the role of sonography as an excellent imaging tool for depiction of the bowel wall and, hence, in aiding diagnosis even when clinical picture and findings of other modalities are nonspecific.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious, severe acute respiratory syndrome that poses significant health risks to healthcare providers. A delicate balance is needed between timely intervention for ill patients without apparent COVID-19 infection and the safety of healthcare personnel who provide essential treatment in the midst of the pandemic. We report our experience managing a 70-year-old man who presented with acute gallstone pancreatitis at our hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia. We also describe the safety protocol measures that have been implemented in our institution to protect the healthcare personnel from this disease during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. This case illustrates the importance of meticulous planning, risk assessment, effective team communication and strict adherence to recommendations when providing treatment during an unprecedented pandemic.
A survey of 142 cases of acute pancreatitis was undertaken in two major hospitals serving the state of Kelantan in Malaysia. Females outnumbered males by a ratio of more than 3:1. The incidence among females peaked in the third decade of life. Twenty-one percent (23/109) of the females were pregnant. Ultrasonography revealed gallstones in only 9.4% (13/138). However, abnormalities of serum transaminases were found in 35% (35/100), suggesting that occult gallstones or microlithiasis may be the cause in a significant proportion of patients. Alcohol was virtually absent as an aetiological factor. There was a higher frequency of Ascaris infection in this group than a control hospital population (11/35 vs 33/242; p < 0.02) suggesting that ascariasis may be an important cause of acute pancreatitis in Kelantan. Only 8.4% fell into the category of severe pancreatitis. The overall mortality rate was 2.1%.