Hypertriglyceridemia revealing acute pancreatitis: A case report

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is considered one of the potentially rare complications of severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG). Multiple treatment modalities have been suggested for patients with HTG-AP, such as permanent removal of TG by plasmapheresis, the use of insulin and heparin to enhance lipoprotein lipase activity and fibrate therapy, but the data remains limited.

we reported a case of 33-year-old women admitted for HTG-induced PA (HTG-AP). The patient had hypertriglyceridemia for 7 years under fibrate therapy as a medical history. On admission to our intensive care unit, his triglyceride level was 1060 mg/dl and the lipase level was 298 IU/L. An abdominal CT scan revealed stage E AP. The patient was treated with a low dose insulin infusion (0.05 unit/kg/h) with heparin and 5-day course of plasmapheresis, Fibrate therapy was maintained. His triglycerides went down to 130.9 mg/dl and she was discharged.

Early recognition of severe HTG can prevent progression to multiples diseases such as acute pancreatitis, can facilitate appropriate or even aggressive treatment to minimize complications of this.