Clinical Profile, Etiology, and Outcome of Acute Pancreatitis: Experience at a Tertiary Care Center

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory process of the pancreas with varying degree of involvement of regional tissues. This was a population-based study on the incidence of AP. We aimed to determine the incidence, etiology, and outcome of AP. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: This prospective study was conducted in the Department of Medicine, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, India, on 120 patients of AP. Clinical history, examination, and laboratory investigations were done. Severity of AP was assessed using the modified Atlanta classification. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients comprising of 88 men (73.33%) and 32 women (26.66%) were recruited. The mean age of study participant was 36.96 ± 13.44 years. The most common presentation was abdominal pain followed by vomiting. The leading etiological factors were alcohol in 85 patients (70.8%) and gallstones in 25 (20.8%). It was idiopathic 5 patients (4.1%). Mortality was seen in three (2.5%) patients, all of which had severe pancreatitis. Patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m(2), Hematocrit (HCT) ≥44% and C-reactive protein (CRP) ≥150 mg/l had an increased risk of developing a severe AP. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol and gallstones were the most common etiological factors of AP, whereas HCT, CRP, and BMI were the useful predictors of severe pancreatitis.