What causes an inflamed pancreas?
An inflamed pancreas is called pancreatitis. It almost always leads to upper abdominal pain. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. Doctors group pancreatitis in two major categories: • Acute Inflammation of the pancreas comes on rather quickly, within several hours to a couple days • Chronic Persistent inflammation of the pancreas By far, the two most common cause of pancreatitis are gallstones and the overuse of alcohol. Less common causes include: • Trauma, such as a car accident or fall with a direct hit to the upper abdomen • Medications • An autoimmune reaction (the immune system mistakenly attacks the pancreas) • A complication of a medical procedure called ERCP (enterohepatic cholangiopancreatography) or abdominal surgery • An abnormal pancreatic duct • A very high triglyceride blood level Sometimes an abnormal blood test can lead a doctor to suspect that the pancreas is inflamed. An inflamed pancreas usually excretes extra enzymes (called amylase and lip
