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Acute pancreatitis induced by methimazole therapy

Albin Abraham1, Pooja Raghavan, Rajshree Patel

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, N.Y.

Case Reports in Gastroenterology
|June 9, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Adverse drug reactions causing acute pancreatitis are rare. This case highlights methimazole (MMI) as a potential cause, emphasizing the importance of timely diagnosis for drug-induced pancreatitis (DIP).

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are an uncommon cause of acute pancreatitis.
  • Diagnosing drug-induced pancreatitis (DIP) is challenging due to difficulties in identifying the causative agent and requires retrospective analysis.

Observation:

  • An 80-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain and was found to have acute pancreatitis.
  • Her medication history included methimazole (MMI), an antithyroid drug, used for three months.
  • Abdominal CT revealed peripancreatic fat stranding and fluid, with elevated amylase and lipase levels.

Findings:

  • In the absence of other risk factors, DIP secondary to methimazole (MMI) was diagnosed.
  • Discontinuation of MMI led to symptom resolution and clinical recovery from pancreatitis.
  • This represents the fourth reported case of MMI-induced pancreatitis in medical literature.

Implications:

  • This case underscores the importance of considering drug-induced pancreatitis (DIP) in patients presenting with acute pancreatitis, especially when other risk factors are absent.
  • Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for methimazole (MMI) as a potential causative agent for DIP.
  • Prompt diagnosis and withdrawal of the offending drug are crucial for managing drug-induced pancreatitis (DIP) and improving patient outcomes.
Keywords:
Adverse drug reactionsDrug-induced pancreatitisMethimazole

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