Acute pancreatitis in patients over 80 years

To evaluate the occurrence, aetiology and outcome of acute pancreatitis (AP) in patients over 80 years of age, compared with those between 61 and 79 years old.Retrospective analysis.University hospital, Finland.Subgroups of 22 patients 80 years old or over and 139 patients 61-79 years old out of 1058 episodes of AP between 1982 and 1990.Mortality, morbidity, and hospital stay.The percentage of patients aged 80 or more varied from 0 in 1982 to 3% in 1990; 13 (59%) were women compared with 47 (34%) in the 61-79 year old group (p = 0.03). AP in the older group was more likely to be necrotising 9/22 (41%) compared with 23/139 (17%), p = 0.02) and to have been caused by biliary disease 15/22 (68%) compared with 54/139 (39%), (p = 0.01). The overall mortality was 9/22 (41%) in the 80 years and over group and 24/139 (17%) in patients aged 61-79 years (p = 0.02). All 9 patients in their eighties with necrotising pancreatitis died. Neither the mode of treatment nor the Glasgow prognostic scoring had any relation to mortality in the older group.AP in patients of 80 or more is a serious disease with a high mortality irrespective of standard treatment.