Acute Pancreatitis; New Methods for Understanding an Old Problem

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis is responsible of considerable amount of hospital admissions, and therefore, significant morbidity and mortality in the modern world. The disease poses a significant burden to healthcare systems since its incidence have been rose to as high as 45 subjects in every 100000 population since early 1990s. Excessive alcohol consumption and biliary tract disorders are two most common causes of acute pancreatitis. Other etiological factors include dyslipidemia, surgery or traumatic injury of abdomen, hypercalcemia, infections, inflammation related to vasculitis, tumors of pancreas or ampulla and various drugs. Drugs that cause acute pancreatitis are anti-neoplastic agents (i.e., asparaginase, azathioprine, mercaptopurine), antibiotics (i.e., tetracycline, isoniazid, sulfonamides, metronidazole), anti-inflammatory drugs (i.e., celecoxib, meselamine, leflunomide), thiazide diuretics, anti-diabetic treatments (i.e., exenatide, sitagliptin), and anti-hypertensive and anti-hyperlipidemia therapies (methyl dopa, enalapril, fenofibrate, simvastatin). Medical interventions such as enteroscopy, peritoneal dialysis, endoscopic retrograde colangio-pancreatography, may also induce acute pancreatitis. Cystic fibrosis and pancreas divisum are also contributing conditions to acute pancreatitis.