Hypertriglyceridemia causes more severe course of acute pancreatitis

Aim: To assess the clinical features and management of hypertriglyceridemia (HTG)-induced acute pancreatitis (AP). Patients & methods: Patients with AP and serum triglyceride levels of >11.3 mmol/l were included. Results: HTG-induced AP accounted for 6.28% of the total number of AP cases. HTG-induced AP patients were significantly younger and there was a male preponderance compared with non-HTG-induced pancreatitic patients. Antilipemic therapy lowered triglyceride levels from 44.78 ± 6.26 to 3.59 ± 0.3 mmol/l in the HTG-induced AP group. Amylase levels were elevated three-times over normal levels in only 23.1% of HTG-induced AP patients. Severe prognosis, pancreatic necrosis, sepsis and local complications were more frequent and the length of hospitalization was significantly longer in the HTG-induced AP compared with AP with other etiologies. Conclusion: HTG-induced AP seems to be more severe than AP of other causes. Levels of serum amylase may be normal or only minimally elevated.