What is pancreatitis?
Pancreatitis as defined by Stedmans Medical Dictionary is the inflammation of the pancreas. There are several different types of pancreatitis, including acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancreatitis. Acute pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed suddenly. The pancreas actually digests itself by autoactivation of digestive enzymes. When this occurs, the patient develops a sudden onset of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal or back pain. The symptoms can be mild to severe and in rare instances, life-threatening. The usual causes of acute pancreatitis are alcohol use and gallstones which migrate into the common bile duct. Other causes of acute pancreatitis include medications, infection (virus, bacteria), abdominal trauma and post ERCP (Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) pancreatitis. Often times patients are hospitalized for treatment. This treatment includes “putting the pancreas to rest” by not feeding the patient, pain medications
