scholarly journals Acute pancreatitis associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection: a case report and review of the literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah S. Eldaly ◽  
Ayman R. Fath ◽  
Sarah M. Mashaly ◽  
Muhammed Elhadi

Abstract Introduction We report a case of Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection with acute pancreatitis as the only presenting symptom. To the best of our knowledge, there are few case reports of the same presentation. Case presentation An otherwise healthy 44-year-old white male from Egypt presented to the hospital with severe epigastric pain and over ten attacks of nonprojectile vomiting (first, gastric content, then bilious). Acute pancreatitis was suspected and confirmed by serum amylase, serum lipase, and computed tomography scan that showed mild diffuse enlargement of the pancreas. The patient did not have any risk factor for acute pancreatitis, and extensive investigations did not reveal a clear etiology. Given a potential occupational exposure, a nasopharyngeal swab for polymerase chain reaction testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 was done, which was positive despite the absence of the typical symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 such as fever and respiratory symptoms. The patient was managed conservatively. For pancreatitis, he was kept nil per os for 2 days and received intravenous lactated Ringer’s (10 ml per kg per hour), nalbuphine, alpha chymotrypsin, omeprazole, and cyclizine lactate. For severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, he received a 5-day course of intravenous azithromycin (500 mg per day). He improved quickly and was discharged by the fifth day. We know that abdominal pain is not a rare symptom of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and we also know that elevated levels of serum amylase and lipase were reported in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 patients, especially those with severe symptoms. However, the association between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection and idiopathic acute pancreatitis is rare and has been reported only a few times. Conclusion We believe further studies should be conducted to determine the extent of pancreatic involvement in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 patients and the possible causality between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and acute pancreatitis. We reviewed the literature regarding the association between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and acute pancreatitis patients. Published data suggest that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 possibly could be a risk factor for acute pancreatitis.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Petersen da Costa Ferreira ◽  
Kalynne Rodrigues Marques ◽  
Gustavo Henrique Ferreira de Mattos ◽  
Tércio de Campos

Abstract Background The consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic have already exceeded 10 million infected and more than 560,000 deaths worldwide since its inception. Currently, it is known that the disease affects mainly the respiratory system; however, recent studies have shown an increase in the number of patients with manifestations in other systems, including gastrointestinal manifestations. There is a lack of literature regarding the development of acute pancreatitis as a complication of coronavirus disease 2019. Case report We report a case of acute pancreatitis in a white male patient with coronavirus disease 2019. A 35-year-old man (body mass index 31.5) had acute epigastric pain radiating to his back, dyspnea, nausea, and vomiting for 2 days. The patient was diagnosed with severe acute pancreatitis (AP)-APACHE II: 5, SOFA: 3, Marshall: 0; then he was transferred from ED to the semi-intensive care unit. He tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, and his chest computed tomography findings were compatible with coronavirus disease 2019. Treatment was based on bowel rest, fluid resuscitation, analgesia, and empiric antibiotic therapy. At day 12, with resolution of abdominal pain and improvement of the respiratory condition, the patient was discharged. Conclusion Since there is still limited evidence of pancreatic involvement in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, no definite conclusion can be made. Given the lack of other etiology, we consider the possibility that the patient’s acute pancreatitis could be secondary to coronavirus disease 2019 infection, and we suggest investigation of pancreas-specific plasma amylase in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 and abdominal pain.


2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 152-157
Author(s):  
Snezana Tesic-Rajkovic ◽  
Biljana Radovanovic-Dinic ◽  
Tatjana Jevtovic-Stoimenov

Introduction. Alcoholic acute pancreatitis occurs in 10% of alcoholics, who take more than 80g alcohol daily. Different biochemical markers are used to diagnose acute pancreatitis, and some of them may help in establishing etiology of acute pancreatitis. Material and Methods. This study is a prospective review of 21 patients. All patients were hospitalized at the Department for Gastroenterology and Hepatology or at the Department for Surgery of the Clinical Centre of Nis in the period from August 1st 2009 to March 1st 2010 with diagnosis of acute alcoholic pancreatitis. Detailed anamnesis, clinical examination, biochemical analyses and ultrasonography of the upper abdomen were done in all patients. All patients provided data on alcohol abuse. Results. The analysis of the corresponding biochemical parameters revealed a statistically significant correlation between the following values: serum amylase and serum lipase (R=0.964674; p<0.001), cholesterol and triglycerides (R=0.93789; p<0.001), total and direct bilirubin (R=0.857899; p<0.001) and between aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (R=0.824461, p<0.001) in patients with alcoholic acute pancreatitis. In addition, there was a statistically significant correlation between the values of serum amylase and urinary amylase (R=0.582742, p<0.001). Discussion. The analysis of biochemical markers showed that some of them were significant for beforehand diagnosis of alcoholic acute pancreatitis, which is in accordance with other studies. Conclusion Some biochemical parameters can be potential predictors of alcoholic acute pancreatitis (lipase/amylase ratio >2, greater ratio of aspartate aminotransferase/ alanine aminotransferase, enhanced triglycerides and values of mean corpuscular volume.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 3707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishith M. Paul Ekka ◽  
Gaurav Mishra ◽  
Vinod Kumar ◽  
Arun Kumar Tiwary ◽  
Tanushree Kar ◽  
...  

Background: Acute pancreatitis is the single most frequent gastrointestinal cause of hospital admissions. Scoring systems have been used since the 1970s for assessment of its severity. This study was aimed to assess the clinical pattern of acute pancreatitis and to compare various predicting systems like Ranson, BISAP and APACHE II in predicting severity, local complications and mortality in acute pancreatitis.Methods: In this prospective study, 91 consecutive cases of acute pancreatitis admitted, between April 2015 to March 2017, were studied. The diagnostic criteria include the presence of at least two of the three features; abdominal pain, serum amylase and lipase levels and findings on imaging studies. Patients were divided into two groups each, BISAP Ranson ≥3 and <3, APACHE II ≥8 and <8, and analyzed statistically.Results: Out of total of 91 patients, 81 were male and 14 were female with mean age was 36.14 years. Commonest aetiological factor was alcoholism in 57.89% followed by gallstones in 23.16%. Serum amylase was raised in 83.26% patients while 95.79% had raised serum lipase levels. 75.79% patients were of MAP while 24.21% patients were of MSAP and SAP. 7.37% patients developed local complications and mortality rate was 6.32%. All the scoring systems were found similar in predicting severity, local complication and mortality, had low sensitivity and high specificity (P value < 0.05).Conclusions: There is no ideal predicting system for acute pancreatitis. These scoring systems can be used to triage patients for better healthcare delivery.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Gupta ◽  
Zheng Vuan ◽  
Elias V. Balaskas ◽  
Ramesh Khanna ◽  
Dimitrios G. Oreopoulos

Autopsy studies have shown that approximately 56% of patients on long-term continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) develop various pancreatic abnormalities, such as acute and chronic pancreatitis, fibrosis, and acinar dilatation. This prevalence of anatomical abnormalities is similar to that observed in patients on hemodialysis and higher than that in those with normal renal function. However, clinical acute pancreatitis is an uncommon complication of CAPD (0.9%), and this prevalence is similar to that (1.7%) of patient son hemodialysis. We can attribute acute pancreatitis in CAPD patients to no single factor. Perhaps preexisting anatomical abnormalities of the pancreas make the CAPD patient susceptible to acute pancreatitis when exposed to a variety of physiological and non physiological influences. The diagnosis of acute pancreatitis in CAPD patients is difficult, because symptoms and signs are similar to those of dialysis-associated peritonitis. Serum amylase values three times greater than the upper limit of normal and effluent amylase greater than 100 U/L suggest the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Serum lipase, isoamylase, and pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor are not helpful. In confirming the diagnosis, a computed tomography (CT) scan is more helpful than ultrasound, although it is positive in only 50–60% of cases. One should harbor a high index of suspicion concerning acute pancreatitis if a CAPD patient presenting with suspected peritonitis has either a negative effluent culture or does not respond to antibiotic therapy.


2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 228-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rh E Stiff ◽  
Gj Morris-Stiff ◽  
J Torkington

Among the rarer causes of acute pancreatitis listed in surgical texts is hypothermia. To assess the evidence for cause and effect, we questioned selected consultants about their experience and examined the case-notes of patients admitted with hypothermia. The 31 consultants who returned our questionnaire (69% response rate; 317 consultant-years’ experience) could recall only 5 cases of pancreatitis associated with hypothermia, in 2 of which other aetiological factors were judged primary. In case-notes for 100 months of emergency admissions at a single hospital we identified 310 patients with hypothermia and 1153 with acute pancreatitis; none had the dual diagnosis. Of the hypothermic patients, none had abdominal pain typical of acute pancreatitis. In 43 serum amylase was measured because the patient was unable to give a full history and in 2 of these the enzyme was slightly raised; both had experienced a cerebrovascular accident, which is a known cause of hyperamylasaemia. Considered alongside the weak evidence from previous studies, these findings offer negligible support for the idea that hypothermia is a clinically relevant risk factor for acute pancreatitis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. e229208
Author(s):  
Caroline Annette Erika Bachmeier ◽  
Adam Morton

Serum lipase and amylase are commonly requested in individuals presenting with abdominal pain for investigation of acute pancreatitis. Pancreatic hyperenzymaemia is not specific for acute pancreatitis, occurring in many other pancreatic and non-pancreatic conditions. Where persistent elevation of serum lipase and amylase occurs in the absence of a diagnosed cause or evidence of laboratory assay interference, ongoing radiological assessment for pancreatic disease is required for 24 months before a diagnosis of benign pancreatic hyperenzymaemia can be made. We report a case of a 71-year-old man with epigastric pain and elevated serum lipase levels. He was extensively investigated, but no pancreatic disease was detected. He is asymptomatic, but serum lipase levels remain elevated 18 months after his initial presentation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-165
Author(s):  
IO Oluwatowoju ◽  
◽  
EO Abu ◽  
G Lawson ◽  
◽  
...  

We report the case of a 72 year old man with a history of COPD and heavy alcohol consumption who was initially diagnosed with acute pancreatitis based on a presentation with epigastric pain and elevated serum amylase. Review of his notes revealed several previous similar admissions and extensive normal investigations apart from persistently elevated amylase. Further analysis showed evidence of macroamylasaemia which accounted for the apparently high serum amylase level.


2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 84-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Kopáčová ◽  
Jan Bureš ◽  
Stanislav Rejchrt ◽  
Jaroslava Vávrová ◽  
Jolana Bártová ◽  
...  

Double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) was introduced 15 years ago. The complications of diagnostic DBE are rare, acute pancreatitis is most redoubtable one (incidence about 0.3%). Hyperamylasemia after DBE seems to be a rather common condition respectively. The most probable cause seems to be a mechanical straining of the pancreas. We tried to identify patients in a higher risk of acute pancreatitis after DBE. We investigated several laboratory markers before and after DBE (serum cathepsin B, lactoferrin, E-selectin, SPINK 1, procalcitonin, S100 proteins, alfa-1-antitrypsin, hs-CRP, malondialdehyde, serum and urine amylase and serum lipase). Serum amylase and lipase rose significantly with the maximum 4 hours after DBE. Serum cathepsin and procalcitonin decreased significantly 4 hours after DBE compared to healthy controls and patients values before DBE. Either serum amylase or lipase 4 hours after DBE did not correlate with any markers before DBE. There was a trend for an association between the number of push-and-pull cycles and procalcitonin and urine amylase 4 hours after DBE; between procalcitonin and alfa-1-antitrypsin, cathepsin and hs-CRP; and between E-selectin and malondialdehyde 4 hours after DBE. We found no laboratory markers determinative in advance those patients in a higher risk of acute pancreatitis after DBE.


1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
J G Donnelly ◽  
D S Ooi ◽  
B F Burns ◽  
R Goel

Abstract A 51-year-old man developed a large retroperitoneal tumor with liver and lymph node metastases; there was no radiological evidence of pancreatic involvement. Despite the progression of disease, results of laboratory tests, notably serum amylase, were normal except for minor increases in aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyltransferase and a marked increase in lipase. The increased lipase was not attributable to formation of macroenzyme. To determine the source of the lipase, we fractionated serum and a tumor biopsy homogenate, using electrophoresis. The lipase pattern obtained from the patient's serum differed from that seen in serum from a patient with acute pancreatitis. Additionally, the lipase pattern obtained from a homogenate of biopsy sample from the retroperitoneal tumor did not match the pattern observed for normal pancreas. Apparently, the source of this increased serum lipase activity was the nonpancreatic tumor.


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