Acute Pancreatitis I: Introduction

Pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas, can be acute or chronic.

Acute pancreatitis involves rapid inflammation of the pancreas, while chronic pancreatitis progresses slowly and can cause permanent damage.

Common causes include gallstone obstruction of the pancreatic duct and excessive alcohol consumption, with less common causes being hypertriglyceridemia, hypercalcemia, abdominal trauma, certain medications, and infections.

The pathogenesis begins when harmful factors damage the pancreas, causing the production of digestive enzymes like trypsin and phospholipase.

Normally, these digestive enzymes activate in the small intestine. However, in pancreatitis, they activate prematurely within the pancreas, causing autodigestion of pancreatic tissue.

This process triggers inflammation, cellular damage, and the release of inflammatory mediators, resulting in edema due to fluid buildup and, in severe cases, can cause tissue necrosis.

Acute pancreatitis is also categorized as mild, with localized inflammation without organ complications, or severe, involving systemic inflammation and the risk of organ failure.