COVID-19 Induced Acute Pancreatitis in a Malagasy Woman Patient: Case Report and Literature Review

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 has been described as a respiratory tropic virus since its emergence in December 2019. During the course of the disease, other extra-pulmonary manifestations have been reported in the literature including pancreatic involvement such as acute pancreatitis. This phenomenon linking COVID-19 and acute pancreatitis has been reported by several case reports and cohort studies. No cases had been reported in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. We report one more case Of COVID-19 induced acute pancreatitis in a Malagasy woman patient without risk factors, further consolidating the existing evidence. CASE PRESENTATION: A 44-year-old woman was diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and had a favorable course under home isolation and drug treatments. One week later, the patient was admitted to hospital with severe acute abdominal pain. Acute pancreatitis was considered according to the revised Atlanta criteria with the presence of the three criteria. Other etiologies of acute pancreatitis (lithiasis, alcohol, hypercalcemia, hypertriglyceridemia, tumor, trauma, surgery) were excluded. Ultimately, a COVID-19 induced acute pancreatitis was retained. The outcome was favorable under symptomatic medical treatment (fluid resuscitation, bowel rest, management of pain and vomiting, and early oral feeding). The patient was discharged after one week of hospitalization. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 is a possible etiology of acute pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis should be routinely ruled out in a patient with COVID-19 infection with acute abdominal pain.