Acute pancreatitis resident survival guide

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Vidit Bhargava, M.B.B.S [2]

Definition

• Acute pancreatitis is diagnosed by the presence of two of the three following criteria:

1. Abdominal pain consistent with acute pancreatitis.

• Acute onset of a persistent, severe, epigastric pain often radiating to the back.
• A dull, colicky pain located in the lower abdomen suggests an alternative etiology.

2. Serum lipase activity (or amylase activity) at least three times greater than the upper limit of normal.

• Amylase may be falsely elevated in appendicitis, cholecystitis, intestinal obstruction or ischemia, perforated ulcer, salivary gland disease, gynecological disease, renal disease, and macroamylasemia.
• Lipase may be falsely elevated in appendicitis, cholecystitis, renal disease, and macrolipasemia.

3. Characteristic findings of acute pancreatitis on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and less commonly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or transabdominal ultrasonography

• If abdominal pain strongly suggests acute pancreatitis but the serum amylase and/or lipase activity is less than three times the upper limit of normal, imaging will be required to confirm the diagnosis.
• If the diagnosis is established by abdominal pain and by increases in the serum pancreatic enzyme activities, a CECT is not usually required on admission.

• A failure to improve after 48–72 hours of admission (e.g., persistent abdominal pain, fever, nausea, unable to begin oral intake) warrants CECT or MRI for assessment of complications.

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.

Acute pancreatitis from any cause may be life-threatening especially if it progresses to necrotizing pancreatitis.

Common Causes

• Alcohol

• Gallstones

• Hypertriglyceridemia

• Idiopathic

• Infections

• Ischaemic necrosis of pancreas from vascular sources such as vasculitis and atherosclerosis

• Medication such as 5-mercaptopurine, azathioprine, 5-DDI

• Metabolic - hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia

• Smoking

• Pancreatic tumor

• Post - ERCP

• Pregnancy

• Toxins such as venom of brown recluse spider, certain arachnids etc.

• Trauma

Management

Acute Pancreatitis

Signs & symptoms: severe abdominal pain, breathing difficulty, hypotension, vomiting, fever, cullen's sign, grey turner sign

Check labs - serum amylase, serum lipase, serum triglycerides, abdominal USG, CBC, CECT, MRI

Diagnostic criteria: Any 2 out of 3 Abdominal pain consistent with disease serum amylase or lipase values > 3 times normal consistent findings from abdominal imaging

Risk stratification

Low risk*

High risk**

General medical ward

ICU

Initiate supportive care Aggressive fluid resuscitation with 250-500 mlRingers Lactate per hr during first 12-24 hours In sever cases give fluid bolus Mild cases - oral liquid feeds In moderate to severe cases enteral feeds, nasogastric or nasojejunal feeds are acceptable

CT scan

Provide adequate analgesia

Pancreatic necrosis

Stones?

Other causes, treat as per cause

No

Yes

Surgical consult Emergency cholecystectomy or ERCP within 24 Hrs of admission

Assess in 1 week

SIRS/Organ failure?

Tolerating oral feeds

Not tolerating oral feed

If yes, surgical consultation Think about CT guided percutaneous aspiration & culture

Recovery

Add nutritional support Consider CT scan

Lack of improvement/Worsening of clinical status

• * - Low risk: 1. Absence of organ failure. and/or 2. Absence of local complications
• ** - High risk: 1. Transient organ failure. and/or 2. local complications.

The following recommendations are based on 2013 guidelines for Acute pancreatitis treatment based on recommendations given by American college of gastroenterology.

Do's

• Perform abdominal USG in all patients.
• Check serum triglycerides if stones/alcohol not not an etiology.
• Consider pancreatic tumor if age > 40 yrs.
• Use Ringer's Lactate(RL) as first choice agent, use normal saline if RL not available.
• Refer patients with idiopathic acute pancreatitis to centers of excellence.
• Perform elective cholecystectomy for gallstones to prevent recurrences.
• Use antibiotics for infected necrosis, with high penetrance such as carbapenems, quinolones & metronidazole.
• CT or MRI should be reserved for:

• Patients in whom the diagnosis is unclear.
• Patients who fail to improve clinically within the first 48-72 h after admission.

Dont's

• Do not shift patients with sepsis/organ failure to general ward.
• Do not perform emergency surgery in stable patients with infected necrosis, wait for 3-4 weeks.