ABSTRACT
Pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory process of the pancreas with variable involvement of other regional tissues or remote organs.Acute pancreatitis is typified by severe epigastric pain radiating through to the back associated with nausea and vomiting. A raised serum amylase concentration greater than five times the normal laboratory range is the most commonly used diagnostic criterion. Elevated serum lipase is also diagnostic, and more specific, but is a rarely performed assay. In the UK, the two commonest causes of acute pancreatitis are gallstones and alcohol abuse, comprising over 80 per cent of all cases in approximately equal proportion. Other causes include:
➜ anatomical abnormality – pancreas divisum, choledochal cyst ➜ tumour obstructing the duct – ampullary, cholangiocarcinoma or head of
pancreas carcinoma ➜ drugs – oral contraceptive pill, thiazide diuretics and steroids ➜ hypercalcaemia, hyperlipidaemia ➜ viral infection – mumps ➜ trauma – including endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) ➜ collagen vascular diseases.
