Acute pancreatitis usually begins with gradual or sudden pain in the upper abdomen that sometimes extends through the back. The pain may be mild at first and feel worse after eating. But the pain is often severe and may become constant and last for several days. A person with acute pancreatitis usually looks and feels very ill and needs immediate medical attention. Other symptoms may include:
Severe acute pancreatitis may cause dehydration and low blood pressure. The heart, lungs, or kidneys can fail. If bleeding occurs in the pancreas, shock and even death may follow.
How is acute pancreatitis diagnosed?
While asking about a person's medical history and conducting a thorough physical examination, the doctor will order a blood test to assist in the diagnosis. During acute pancreatitis, the blood contains at least three times the normal amount of amylase and lipase, digestive enzymes formed in the pancreas. Changes may also occur in other body chemicals such as glucose, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate. After the person's condition improves, the levels usually return to normal.
Diagnosing acute pancreatitis is often difficult because of the deep location of the pancreas. The doctor will likely order one or more of the following tests:
Abdominal ultrasound. Sound waves are sent toward the pancreas through a
handheld device that a technician glides over the abdomen. The sound waves
bounce off the pancreas, gallbladder, liver, and other organs, and their
echoes make electrical impulses that create a picture - called a sonogram - on a
video monitor. If gallstones are causing inflammation, the sound waves will
also bounce off them, showing their location.
Computerized tomography (CT) scan. The CT scan is a noninvasive
X-ray
that produces three-dimensional pictures of parts of the body. The person
lies on a table that slides into a donut-shaped machine. The test may show
gallstones and the extent of damage to the pancreas.
Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). After spraying a solution to numb the patient's throat, the doctor inserts an endoscope
- a thin, flexible, lighted
tube - down the throat, through the stomach, and into the small intestine. The
doctor turns on an ultrasound attachment to the scope that produces sound
waves to create visual images of the pancreas and bile ducts.
Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). MRCP uses magnetic
resonance imaging, a noninvasive test that produces cross-section images of
parts of the body. After being lightly sedated, the patient lies in a
cylinder-like tube for the test. The technician injects dye into the patient's veins that helps show the pancreas, gallbladder, and pancreatic
and bile ducts.
Pancreatitis - Describe Your ExperienceQuestion: The symptoms of pancreatitis can vary greatly from patient to patient. What were your symptoms at the onset of your disease?
Kidney failure can occur from an acute event or a chronic condition or disease. Prerenal kidney failure is caused by blood loss, dehydration, medication. Some of the renal causes of kidney failure are from sepsis, medications, rhabdomyolysis, multiple myeloma, and acute glomerulonephritis. Post renal causes of kidney failure include bladder obstruction, prostate problems, tumors, or kidney stones. Treatment options included diet, medications, or dialysis.
Abdominal pain is pain in the belly and can be acute or chronic. Causes include inflammation, distention of an organ, and loss of the blood supply to an organ. Abdominal pain can reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen such as the appendix, gallbladder, large and small intestine, pancreas, liver, colon, duodenum, and spleen.
Low blood pressure, also referred to as hypotension, is blood pressure that is so low that it causes symptoms or signs due to the low flow of blood through the arteries and veins. Some of the symptoms of low blood pressure include light-headedness, dizziness, or even fainting if not enough blood is getting to the brain. Diseases and medications can also cause low blood pressure. When the flow of blood is too low to deliver enough oxygen and nutrients to vital organs such as the brain, heart, and kidneys; the organs do not function normally and may be permanently damaged.
Gallstones are stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones (formed in the gallbladder) can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. There can be just one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones, or any combination. The majority of gallstones do not cause symptoms.
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition characterized by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. The two types of diabetes are referred to as type 1 (insulin dependent) and type 2 (non-insulin dependent). Symptoms of diabetes include increased urine output, thirst, hunger, and fatigue. Treatment of diabetes depends on the type.
Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
Stool color is generally brown. When stool color changes, often, an individual becomes concerned. The presence of the bilirubin in bile is generally responsible for stool color. Bilirubin concentration can vary bile color from light yellow to almost black in color. Changes in bilirubin can cause stool to turn green, gray, or clay-like in color. Intestinal bleeding may turn stool black, tarry, red, maroon, or smelly stool. Medication and food may also affect stool color.
Ascites, the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity is most commonly caused by cirrhosis of the liver. Some of the other causes of ascites include portal hypertension, congestive heart failure, blood clots, and pancreatitis. The most common symptoms include increased abdominal girth and size, abdominal bloating, and abdominal pain. Treatment depends on the cause of ascites.
Pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining around the lungs, is associated with sharp chest pain upon breathing in. Cough, chest tenderness, and shortness of breath are other symptoms associated with pleurisy. Pleurisy pain can be managed with pain medication and by external splinting of the chest wall.
Cystic fibrosis is a disease of the mucus and sweat glands. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease. The outcome of the disease leaves the body malnourished, bulky and fouls smelling stools, vitamin insufficiency, gas, painful or swollen abdomen, infertility, susceptible to heat emergencies, and respiratory failure. There is no cure for cystic fibrosis, treatment of symptoms is used to manage the disease.
Pancreatic cysts are collections of fluid within the pancreas. Some are benign, malignant, or pseudocysts. There are two major types of pancreatic cysts, inflammatory cysts and non-inflammatory cysts. Non-inflammatory cysts include: serous cyst adenomas, mucinous cyst adenomas, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), and solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. Symptoms of pancreatic cysts include abdominal pain, jaundice, fever, chills, and sepsis. Treatment depends on the type of cyst, and patient health.
Hypercalcemia is a condition in which calcium levels in the blood are elevated. Hypercalcemia is associated with other conditions such as hyperparathyroidism, lung cancer, breast cancer, kidney failure, and elevated levels of vitamin D. Symptoms of hypercalcemia include constipation, nausea, abdominal pain, kidney stones, to name a few. Treatment depends on the cause of hypercalcemia.
Digestion is the complex process of turning food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestive process also involves creating waste to be eliminated, and is made of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food.
Duodenal diverticula (extramural or intramural), or duodenal diverticulum, is a pouch that is attached to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum). The cause of extramural diverticula is not clear, however, it may be congenital. Complications caused by duodenal diverticulum include rupture, gallstones, or pancreatitis. Extramural duodenal diverticula has no symptoms. Treatment is generally surgery.
Pancreas divisum is a common congenital anomaly (an anomaly that is present at birth) of the pancreatic duct(s). The human embryo starts life with two ducts in the pancreas; the ventral duct and the dorsal duct. In more than 90% of the embryos, the dorsal and the ventral ducts will fuse to form one main pancreatic duct. In approximately 10% of embryos, the dorsal and the ventral ducts fail to fuse. Failure of the ventral and the dorsal pancreatic ducts to fuse is called pancreas divisum (because the pancreas is drained by two ducts). In pancreas divisum, the ventral duct drains into the major papilla, while the dorsal duct drains into a separate minor papilla. The majority of individuals born with pancreas divisum experience no symptoms throughout life, will remain undiagnosed and will not require treatment. A small number of patients with pancreas divisum will experience repeated episodes of pancreatitis.
Choledochal cysts are cysts of the bile ducts. There are several different types of choledochal cysts. These cysts are congenital, however, their cause is not known. Symptoms of choledochal cysts in infants include an enlarged liver and jaundice. In older people, the cysts cause abdominal pain, jaundice, cholangitis, gallstones, and pancreatitis. Treatment for choledochal cysts is surgery.
Weber-Christian disease is a rare inflammatory disease that affects the body's fat tissues. It's also known as relapsing febrile nodular panniculitis syndrome and idiopathic lobular panniculitis. The disorder appears on the skin as red or purple tender, raised lumps. The thighs and lower legs are the most frequently affected areas. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, weight loss, joint pain, and abdominal pain. Though there is no cure for the disease, inflammation may be treated with various antiinflammatory medications.
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