Pancreatitis definition
Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is an organ found in the abdomen. Abdominal pain is the most common symptom seen in this condition. With early diagnosis and prompt treatment it can be managed. It could lead to various complications, such as increasing the risk of progression to pancreatic cancer in case of ill treatment or delayed treatment. Pancreatitis can be successfully treated by an experienced gastroenterologist.
Pancreas is an organ which is found in the abdominal cavity located behind the stomach. Every day it secretes about 236 ml of pancreatic juice (containing pancreatic enzymes). The function of pancreatic juice helps in digestion of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
Although the inflammation of pancreatitis is called pancreatitis, there are broadly two types of pancreatitis. They are:
While 80% of the acute pancreatitis cases resolve on their own without arising of any serious complications, with only 5% mortality, the chronic pancreatitis on the other hand reported a 9-16-fold risk of pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatitis meaning
Acute pancreatitis meaning: The etymology of “acute” is derived from Latin word “acutus” which meant sharp and pointed, implying the sudden attribution of disease severity. Pancreatitis is an amalgamation of the organ “pancreas” + “itits” (which meant inflammation).
Chronic pancreatitis meaning: Chronic roots are from the Greek word “Khronos” which meant time, implying the longevity and persistence of a disease to accumulate its severity. Pancreatitis is an amalgamation of the organ "pancreas" + "itits" (which meant inflammation).
The Pancreas secret pancreatic juice (a transparent fluid consists of electrolytes, water, and enzymes) that is rich in proteins and consists of bicarbonate fluid, digesting enzyme such as amylase, trypsin, nucleases, elastase, chymotrypsinogen, carboxypeptidase and lipase, these enzymes are essential for the digestion of fat, protein, fat, and carbohydrate in the food.
The pancreas performs two most important functions i.e. exocrine and endocrine function for human body -
Acute pancreatitis prevalence worldwide: While there were about 28,14,972.3 cases of acute pancreatitis in 2019, 4.1% (115,053.2) of them met their demise. According to a study published in 2021, India is one of the top three countries that contained the greatest number of incident cases of acute pancreatitis: the others being China and America.
The overall prevalence of acute pancreatitis in India seemed to increase which could be either due to an increase in diseases which cause pancreatitis (such as gallstones) or due to the overall improved diagnostics. Nevertheless, it must be understood that the prevalence of acute pancreatitis in India might not be consistent across the country owing to the varied lifestyles and eating habits.
While a Government Hospital in New Delhi reported 62 patients per year, the hospital situated in Shimla reported 123 acute pancreatitis patients per year. The overall mortality of acute pancreatitis was approximately 5%, while the necrotizing and interstitial pancreatitis were 17% and 3%, respectively.
There are a different type of conditions related to the pancreas including-
Signs and symptoms of pancreatitis depends on its type, there are some general symptoms that may indicate acute / chronic pancreatitis, include:-
Pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas occurs when digestive enzymes become activated while still in the pancreas, irritating the cells of your pancreas. These conditions can cause acute or chronic pancreatitis:
These following risk factors can increase risk of pancreatitis –
Men are at high risk compared to women. Combination of any of the above risk factors can increase the chances of getting acute or chronic pancreatitis, for example obese people consuming excess alcohol or a person is smoking cigarettes and consuming alcohol may increase the risk of acute or chronic pancreatitis.
Pancreatitis can cause severe complications that require immediate attention:
Pancreatitis has physical findings that affect body systems and can be diagnosed through blood test, imaging test and intervention procedure advised by doctor.
Depending on symptoms, the Gastroenterologist will ask about medical history, any family history of pancreatitis, eating and drinking habits, taking any prescription or over-the-counter medications, including vitamins and supplements.
To diagnose pancreatitis, a gastroenterologist may recommend:
Pancreatitis treatment depends upon its type, cause, and stags. It’s very important to find the cause and extent of pancreas damage in guiding treatment.
Pancreatitis treatment usually require short-term or long-term hospitalization to initiate the aggressive treatment. In general the following treatment will be initiated for the treatment of pancreatitis -
Alcohol consumption and smoking cigarettes can increase the risk of pancreatitis. It is strongly recommended quitting smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol to prevent pancreatitis. A healthy diet rich in high fiber, maintaining healthy weight, limiting intake of sugars and regular exercise can protect you against any non-communicable disease such as pancreatitis.
Pain due to pancreatitis may be intermittent or chronic or frequently very severe sometimes people can experience intense stabbing upper abdominal pain than extend to the back. In mild cases affected from acute conditions, pain may present for few minutes and can last for several hours whereas in severe cases affected from chronic conditions, pain may become constant for years together.
Patients with pancreatitis likely to experience upper abdominal pain after food or when lying down. Treatment at early stage can help in reliving symptoms and fast recovery from it.
Pancreatic necrosis is a fatal condition that occurs due to increased levels of
inflammation, resulting in blockage of blood supply to the pancreas and
formation of necrosis (death) of pancreatic tissue, leading to infection from bacteria. This infection quickly spreads to the other organ resulting in multiple organ failure.
The severity of pancreatitis depends on various factors. About 4/5 cases of acute pancreatitis demonstrate a quick improvement without any serious further problems. Nevertheless, 1 in 5 cases of pancreatitis are severe which may result in serious life-threatening complications, such as multiple organ failure. In severe cases with the development of complications there's a high risk of fatality.
Yes, both types of pancreatic cancer – acute and chronic can be cured. treatment usually require short-term or long-term hospitalization to initiate the aggressive treatment.
The healing time for pancreatitis can vary depending on the severity of the condition. Mild cases of acute pancreatitis may resolve within a few days to a couple of weeks, while severe cases or cases with complications may take several weeks or even months to heal. Chronic pancreatitis may require ongoing management and can take months to years to stabilize.
The pancreatic enzyme trypsin is effective in digesting proteins. Trypsin is produced by the pancreas and plays a crucial role in breaking down proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids, which can be absorbed by the small intestine.
If the pancreatitis is temporary, it is called acute pancreatitis and usually resolves on its own without any intervention.
There is no test for pancreatitis at home. The abdominal pain caused by pancreatitis can be distinguished with other types of pain abdominal which can help in alerting the patients to consult doctors.
Pancreatic juice is a fluid secreted by the pancreas playing a crucial role in digestion, helping in the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The pancreatic juice contains various enzymes, such as amylase, lipase, and proteases which help not only in digestion but also in the maintenance of an optimal pH environment for the enzymes to function.
The natural history of chronic pancreatitis is poorly well defined. Mortality ratio is higher than that of the general population, survival at 10 years after the onset of the disease being estimated at 69-80%. Pancreatic cancer is one of the important causes of death but the extra pancreatic malignancies in chronic pancreatitis it is only known that they have common risk factors such as alcohol, smoking etc.
Acute pancreatitis is defined as an acute inflammatory attack of the pancreas with a sudden onset of symptoms. The commonest causes for acute pancreatitis are gallstones (40–65%) and alcohol (25–40%), and the remainder (10–30%) are due to a variety of causes including autoimmune and genetic risk factors.
Acute and chronic pancreatitis has been commonly reported in association with primary hyperparathyroidism. Some authors have raised some doubt on the cause and effect relationship between the two diseases, because less than 1% of the patients with pancreatitis are affected by hyperparathyroidism and less than 4% of the patients with hyperparathyroidism develop a pancreatic inflammatory disease. Persistent hypercalcemia increases the calcium content of pancreatic juice and resulted in the accelerated conversion of trypsinogen to trypsin. This in turn triggered the pancreatic inflammation.
Gallstones are hard, pebble-like deposits that form in the gallbladder which are typically composed of cholesterol or bilirubin. Gallstones can cause pancreatitis by blocking the duct that connects the gallbladder to the small intestines, known as the common bile duct. When a gallstone gets stuck in this duct, it can cause a backup of digestive enzymes into the pancreas, leading to inflammation and damage.
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