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Objective: to evaluate the incidence and epidemiological characteristics of patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) from the Hospital General Ambato del Instituto Ecuatoriano del Seguro Social (IESS), Ecuador. Materials and methods: An observational, descriptive, and retrospective study of patients admitted with AP diagnosis in this hospital during the period from January to December 2017 was carried out, the clinical data found in the medical records department of the aforementioned hospital were evaluated, and the cumulative incidence during 2017 was calculated. Results: Out of the 2360 patients admitted, 47 showed AP diagnostic criteria, with a cumulative incidence of 1.99% in 1 year. Being more frequent in women (53.2%; n=25), in patients >65 years (40.4%; n=19) and the lithiasic etiology the most common (70.2%; n=33), the most prevalent clinical manifestation was abdominal pain (97.9%; n=46). Regarding the severity of pancreatitis, the Atlanta classification showed a predominance of mild grade (65.9%; n=31), Balthazar's criteria: grade A (29.7%; n=14) and APACHE II criteria: <8 points (61.7%; n=29). They were admitted to the ICU (27.7%; n=13) and died (8.5%; n=4). Conclusion: The incidence of AP In patients of the Hospital General Ambato del IESS was 1.99% in 2017, lower than that exhibited on previous worldwide and Ecuadorian population reports. Although the clinical characteristics and severity are similar to other populations, the mortality rate (8.5%) is higher than showed by several European studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]