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Acute pancreatitis in patients with acute hepatic failure

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Abstract

The incidence of acute pancreatitis has been studied in 42 patients with acute liver failure, the majority due to short-incubation hepatitis. The diagnosis of pancreatitis was based on autopsy findings, and classified as severe, moderate, or mild. Fourteen patients (33%) had evidence of pancreatitis-severe in 4, moderate in 5, and mild in 5. It is suggested that this pancreatitis was due either to the virus causing infectious hepatitis or to the blood coagulation changes accompanying acute liver failure. Acute pancreatitis should be considered as one of the possible causes of sudden clinical deterioration in patients with acute liver failure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Surgery and Pathology, The Prince Henry Hospital, Little Bay, 2036, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    J. M. Ham MD (Associate Professor of Surgery) & P. Fitzpatrick MD

Authors
  1. J. M. Ham MD
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  2. P. Fitzpatrick MD
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Additional information

This work was supported in part by the Clinical Liver Research Fund of The Prince Henry Hospital.

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Ham, J.M., Fitzpatrick, P. Acute pancreatitis in patients with acute hepatic failure. Digest Dis Sci 18, 1079–1083 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01076525

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01076525

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