Case Study On Acute Pancreatitis

Acute Pancreatitis: Acute inflammation of the pancreas.The most common pathogenic mechanism is autodigestion of the pancreas. The etiological factor injures pancreatic cells or activates the pancreatic enzymes in the pancreas rather than in the intestine which may be due to reflux of bile acids into the pancreatic duct through an open or distended sphincter of Oddi. The result may also be caused by blockage created by a gallstone. Obstruction of pancreatic ducts results in pancreatic ischemia.The pathophysiology involvement of acute pancreatitis is

“Each year, acute pancreatitis sends more than 200,000 Americans to the hospital. Many of those who suffer from pancreatic problems are also heavy drinkers” (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 15). The pancreas is an important organ which aids in digestions and energy conversion. The pancreas directs enzymes to the small intestine to digest nutrients and it also secretes insulin and glucagon. The body’s main source of energy is glucose and insulin allows additional glucose to be stored away in the body properly. Too much alcohol damages cells in the pancreas, causing complications with insulin, leaving the organ open to inflammation. Alcohol causes the pancreas to discharge the enzymes intended for the small intestine back into the pancreas which can lead to inflammation and the swelling of tissues and blood vessels. Pancreatitis is the inflammation which causes the organ to malfunction and if one continues to drink, it can magnify into chronic pancreatitis when the inflammation is constant (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 15-16). Pancreatitis causing severe abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, and is not curable. Sixty-percent of circumstances result from alcohol; although, some have been linked to gallstones (Freeman).

Pancreatic Cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Currently there is no cure for this cancer and all available treatments simply prolong the life of the patient. Diagnosing pancreatic cancer rarely occurs at the onset of the disease due to the location of the pancreas in the body. Symptoms such as weight loss and upper abdominal pain do not show up until it is too late. Enzymes produced by tumors known as tumor markers are not reliable until the disease has well progressed. Once you have been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer there are different types of treatments that are offered to prolong your life.

Because of the excessive pancreatic juice and bile Zachary’s pancreas will not be able to function correctly, this will result in a blockage of the secretions that will continue to build causing further damage and inflammation. Zachary will end up with extrahephatic jaundice due to the blockage of bile drainage and he will become malnourished and lose weight.

Methods. This study used a retrospective cohort design that included 70,862 patients from 526 acute care hospitals in Japan. The data were collected from the Japanese Diagnosis

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. It is very rare before the age of 45 years, and the majority of patients present in or beyond the sixth decade of life (Feldman et al.2010). Carcinoma arises anywhere in the pancreas. The most common frequent focus is in the head (60%), followed by the body (10%), and the tail (5%). Carcinomas of the head of the pancreas may cause biliary obstruction and jaundice by compressing the ampulla of Vater and common bile duct. They thus tend to be smaller at diagnosis than those of the body and tail and show more limited spread to regional lymph nodes and distant sites. On gross examination, pancreas carcinoma

This article, which was submitted for review in 2013, was written by Lennard YW Lee, Ramez Golmohamad, and George MacFaul of the Department of Gastroenterology, Milton Keynes NHS Foundation Trust, Standing Way, Milton Keynes MK65LD, United Kingdom. The paper was accepted for publication August 25, 2013.

The disease can also result in various obstructions of the pancreas, hindering digestion (World Health Organization, 2012, p.5).

The pain is constant and becomes more severe as the days go on. There are many possible indications as to what causes pancreatitis. Some of these causes include alcoholism, cystic fibrosis, gallstones, trauma, and family history of pancreatitis. When a patient has repeated flare-ups of pancreatitis, it is classified as chronic pancreatitis. As this disease progresses, it usually leads to permanent damage of the pancreas. Pancreatitis is treated in many different ways. Once the underlying cause of the disease is known, treatment may include removal of bile duct obstructions, cholecystectomy, treatment for alcoholism, or pancreas surgery to remove some of the damaged

There are two kinds of pancreatic cancer. There is the endocrine tumors and the exocrine tumors. Endocrine tumors are less common and they affect the islet cells of the pancreas. They tend to be benign and not often become malignant. However the exocrine tumors are much more common and this is what Gene is diagnosed with. Exocrine tumors are often called adenocarcinomas and that means cancer affect the gland cells such as the ducts of the glands (American Cancer Society). Pancreatic adenocarcinomas keep the glands from secreting normal The signs and symptoms of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is darkening of the urine, irritated skin, jaundice, pain in the upper abdomen and back, unexplained weight loss, stomach bloating, weakness, and nausea.

Elevated lipase and amylase levels cause breakdown of local adipose tissue. The time of increased amylase and lipase occurs 16-25% of the time in DKA. Some reports show that nonspecific elevations of amylase in DKA. Increased serum lipase is also assumed to indicate acutal pancreatic involvement. (Rizvi) “Diagnosis of acute pancreatitis rests on the presence of abdominal pain and associated increses of amylase and lipas.” (Rizvi)

The recent development of new respiratory gating techniques, motion resistant pulse sequences, and additive advantages of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) imaging protocols make MRI a very accurate investigation modality for the evaluation of pancreatic masses. MRI has the unique ability of non-invasive evaluation of the pancreatic ducts, pancreatic parenchyma, adjacent soft tissues, and vascular network in a single examination.

Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory process ranging from mild abdominal discomfort to severe disease involving multiple organ systems. Diagnosis is based on the presence of at least two of the following three features: abdominal pain; increased pancreatic amylase, and/or lipase levels to ≥3 times the upper limit of normal; and imaging tests showing characteristic findings of acute pancreatitis. The incidence of acute pancreatitis is known to differ geographically due to differences in alcohol consumption or in the incidence of gallstones disease in different parts of the world. Cholelithiasis is the leading cause of acute pancreatitis

Pancreatic cancer is a disease that has no cure. It comes in the body and hides until it wants to be found, by the time it is found the cancer is usually in the late stages. However there may be a cure in the near future.

As you get older you have a bigger possibility of having pancreatic cancer. That is because it is mostly common between elderly people, between 55 years and older.