How to Deal with the Etiological Diagnosis of Acute Pancreatitis in Clinical Practice?

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an acute inflammatory condition of the pancreas with significant morbidity and mortality. This chapter discusses the various causes of AP and a diagnostic algorithm for etiological diagnosis of AP. Establishing an etiological diagnosis is extremely important in patients with AP to identify the cause and prevent recurrence. A patient is labelled as having idiopathic AP if no etiology is identified after clinical evaluation, biochemical investigations (including serum calcium and triglyceride level), and abdominal imaging by ultrasound and CT. Hypercalcemia and HTG are important metabolic causes of AP. Smoking is a risk factor for AP. Patients with idiopathic pancreatitis aged over 50 years should be evaluated for occult pancreatobiliary malignancy if there is no other obvious cause of AP.