Related Experiment Videos
Acute pancreatitis after gastrointestinal endoscopy
Andrew B Nevins1, Emmet B Keeffe
1Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94304-1509, USA.
Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology
|December 18, 2001
Summary
Acute pancreatitis is a rare complication of routine gastrointestinal endoscopy. This case suggests a potential causal link between endoscopy and pancreatitis, even without typical risk factors.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Endoscopy
- Pancreatology
Background:
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a known cause of acute pancreatitis.
- Other endoscopic procedures are not typically associated with this complication.
Observation:
- A patient developed acute pancreatitis after an uneventful upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy.
- The patient lacked common risk factors for pancreatitis such as gallstones, alcohol abuse, or hypertriglyceridemia.
Findings:
- The temporal association suggests a possible causal relationship between the endoscopy and pancreatitis.
- The exact mechanism remains unclear, potentially involving pancreatic trauma or inflammatory mediators.
Implications:
- Acute pancreatitis should be considered a rare complication of routine upper endoscopy and colonoscopy.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the causal mechanisms and identify at-risk patients.