Management Outcome and Associated Factors of Acute Pancreatitis among Patients Admitted with Acute Abdomen in Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mengistu Solomon¹, Getachew Desta¹, Wondwossen Amtataw¹* and Digafe Tsegaye^2
1Department of Surgery, Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
²Department of Public Health, Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
*Corresponding Author: Wondwossen Amtataw, Department of Surgery, Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Published: June 08, 2024

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Abstract  

Background: Acute pancreatitis results from abnormal activation of pancreatic enzymes and inflammatory mediators, leading to an acute inflammatory process. It ranges from mild to life-threatening and is a frequent cause of acute abdominal issues. While its prevalence is rising globally, the specific incidence in Ethiopia remains unknown, with only two hospital-based studies conducted.

Objective: To assess the management outcome and associated factors of Acute Pancreatitis among patients admitted with acute abdomen.

Methods: An institution based cross sectional study was conducted among 60 patients with acute pancreatitis. SPSS statistical software version 25 was used for data entry and analysis. Fisher’s exact test used to see association and p-value<0.05 considered stastically significant.

Result: The study found that abdominal pain was the most common symptom by most patients. The most frequent physical findings were tachycardia with abdominal tenderness, followed by abdominal tenderness alone. The primary identified etiology was alcohol in 36.2% of cases, followed by idiopathic, gallstone, and multiple causes in 29.3%, 19%, and 15.5% respectively. The majority of patients had mild acute pancreatitis, with 13.8% and 29.3% experiencing severe and moderate forms, respectively. Most (91.4%) patients showed improvement upon discharge, while 8.6% died in the hospital. Mortality in acute pancreatitis was associated with comorbidities (P<0.023), delayed presentation (P<0.013), age ≥60 years (P<0.003), BISAP >2(P<0.001), and severe acute pancreatitis (P<0.001).

Conclusion: The study identified alcohol, idiopathic causes, and gallstones as the most common etiologies. Diagnosis of acute pancreatitis relies on clinical presentation, elevated pancreatic enzyme levels, and imaging for uncertain cases. Management typically involves conservative measures. Morbidity and mortality outcomes in acute pancreatitis heavily rely on timely diagnosis and appropriate management.

Keywords: Acute Pancreatitis; Etiologies; Severity scoring

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