Diagnosis of Acute Pancreatitis Secondary to Hypertriglyceridemia in a Pediatric Patient in the Emergency Department

The incidence of acute pancreatitis in pediatric patients has increased in the last decade. We present the case of an eight-year-old boy who presented to the emergency department from another healthcare facility for the evaluation of appendicitis and was found to have acute pancreatitis secondary to hypertriglyceridemia. Clinical suspicion of pancreatitis should remain high in the pediatric patient population with nausea, emesis, and abdominal pain considering that pancreatitis’ often atypical and non-specific presentation may lead to delayed diagnosis.