Acute Pancreatitis
Monday, July 30, 2007

Pancreatitis (pan-cre-a-ti-tis) is a serious disease that may require treatment in the hospital. Dr. Ken Davis discusses acute pancreatitis in today’s 60 Second Housecall.

The pancreas is a large organ in your abdomen just behind the stomach.  The pancreas has two primary functions:  secretion of enzymes into the intestines to help digest food, and secretion of insulin into the blood to help control blood sugar.

Acute pancreatitis is a serious disease where the pancreas becomes inflamed.  The digestive enzymes are released directly into the gland and cause tissue destruction.  The causes of acute pancreatitis include:  alcohol abuse, gallstones blocking the duct that empties into the intestine, side effects of certain medicines, high triglycerides, or an unknown reason in 10 percent of cases.

The symptoms of acute pancreatitis include:

-     severe, constant pain in the upper abdomen

-     nausea

-     vomiting, and

-     fever

Mild cases of pancreatitis may resolve without treatment.  More severe cases require hospitalization with intravenous fluids,suction of stomach fluids through a nasogastric tube, and even surgery for gallstones.  Two percent of patients with acutepancreatitis die from extensive organ failure.

For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.