What is acute Pancreatitis?

Inflammation of the pancreas may occur suddenly causing a potentially serious illness. Injury and death of the pancreatic cells leads to release of the digestive enzymes, toxins and fluid into the abdominal cavity and into the blood causing significant systemic disturbance.

The two main causes of acute pancreatitis are:

• Alcohol excess (35% cases) – due to binge drinking or long standing heavy consumption.
• gallstones (45% cases) – gallstones become lodged in the common bile duct causing backpressure to the pancreas

Other causes include:

• drugs - thiazide diuretics, oestrogens, antibiotics
• infections – mumps
• disease of the arterial blood supply of the pancreas
• Pancreatic cancer.

Acute pancreatitis occurs across a wide age range affecting adults and elderly people. It is rare in children apart from an uncommon hereditary type. Classically it is due to alcohol excess in the younger age range, predominantly males, and to gallstones in older women and men. Drug reactions, arterial disease and pancreatic cancer are more common in the older age group. The incidence of acute pancreatitis in the UK is rising dramatically due to increased alcohol consumption and misuse.

Amended April 2008