European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Acute pancreatitis, characterised by inflammation, auto-destruction and activation of pancreatic enzyme is a common gastro-intestinal cause of hospital admission. Understanding the etiology, clinical profile and clinical outcomes of these patients in regional setting is key for appropriate management.
Methods: A hospital based observational study was carried out between August 2011 and July 2013 among patients above 18 years of age who presented to the outpatient department with acute pancreatitis. Patients demographic, clinical information, and laboratory findings was obtained at admission. All patients were subjected to ultrasonography and patients with severe disease were subjected to Computed Tomography. The clinical severity and outcomes were recorded. Data was summarised as mean (SD) for continuous variables and proportions for categorical variables.
Results: Among 94 subjects included in the study, about 85% were males and 69% were aged less than 45 years. Abdominal pain (88%) was the most common clinical presentation, followed by vomiting (49%). Alcohol was the most common etiological factor seen in about 60% of the subjects. Ultrasonography revealed bulky pancreas in 38% and gallbladder calculi in 33% of the subjects. Acute kidney Injury was present among 3% of the patients. About 9% had severe disease and mortality was 2.1%. There was marked increase in the levels of pancreatic enzymes, BUN and serum creatinine among patients with severe disease when compared to patients with mild/moderate disease.
Conclusions: Acute pancreatitis is a leading causes of hospitalization due to gastro-intestinal cause. Clinical assessment along with radiological findings correlates well with the disease severity and mortality. Understanding the clinical and etiological profile of patients with acute pancreatitis would be helpful to plan the management strategies for the local setting.