[Severe hypertriglyceridemia and acute pancreatitis in pregnancy. A case report]

We report the case of a 32-year old woman who developed major hypertriglyceridaemia complicated by acute pancreatitis at 35 weeks of pregnancy. Caesarean section was performed within 24 hours of admission. After delivery, hypocaloric parenteral feeding without lipid emulsion was initiated. The outcome was favourable, and the patient could resume oral feeding after 5 weeks. The incidence of pancreatitis during pregnancy is 1 in 1,000 to 3,000 pregnancies. In the identification of the metabolic abnormality in our patient the differential diagnosis was between type III and type IV hyperlipaemia, according to Fredrickson's classification.