Acute Pancreatitis: An Exploratory, Cross-sectional, Single-center Study of the Epidemiological Features of the Disease in a Sample of Saudi Patients

Abstract

Epidemiological studies on Acute Pancreatitis (AP) are significantly scarce in the Saudi Arabian Literature. In this paper, we aim to explore the current trends of AP in a sample of Saudi patients. This is a cross-sectional study in which we reviewed AP-related admissions from 2014 to 2017. Data collected included demographics, clinical presentation, investigations, severity, complications, and the outcome at the end of hospitalization. During the study period, 107 patients were admitted due to AP. Fifty-seven (53%) were males. Biliary pancreatitis was the most common etiology found among our patients (39.3%; 95% CI: 30.5-48.7), followed by alcoholic pancreatitis (11.2%; 95% CI: 6.5-18.6) and hypertriglyceridemia (8%; 95% CI: 4.5-15.2). Pancreatic pseudocysts were the most common complication we found in this series (15%; 95% CI: 9.4-23). Of all the hospitalized patients in this study, eight patients (7.9%) died (95% CI: 3.8-14.1). The number of AP-related admissions and mortality rate appear to have increased as compared with the numbers in earlier national studies. The etiological groups have also changed. As compared with Western/Asian studies, however, there was almost no difference in the epidemiological patterns except for the mortality rate.

Mechanisms linking hypertriglyceridemia to acute pancreatitis

“…This is based on the finding that the temporal changes in HTG-AP come in populations from the same geographic area. While studies from Africa, 42 Asia, [43][44][45][46][47] and Central and South America 48,49 reported that the proportion of HTG-AP among other AP etiologies come from different centers and are largely after year 2000, some studies from Europe and North America come from the same area or span long periods. For example, a study using the Danish nationwide health registry data reported an increase in HTG-AP from 0.7/100000 person-years in 2008 to 1.7/100000 person-years in 2019.…”

Comparative analysis of epidemiology, etiology, and outcomes between elderly and young and middle-aged acute pancreatitis patients: a retrospective, single-center study

“…Retrospective studies in China and Saudi Arabia showed that biliary acute pancreatitis was most commonly seen among elderly patients [3,7]. Middle-aged patients exhibited the highest relative prevalence of alcoholic pancreatitis in studies from Japan and Saudi Arabia [7,8].…”

Incidence of peripancreatic fluid collections in patients presenting with acute pancreatitis

“…Incidence of fluid collections ... Molla et al Saudi Med J 2022; Vol. 43 (12) https://smj.org.sa A cute pancreatitis (AP) is characterized by the autodigestion of the pancreas by pancreatic enzymes, which are activated following the obstruction of the pancreatic ducts. 1 Acute pancreatitis is associated with a high level of morbidity and mortality, with mortality rates reaching up to 10% of patients.…”

“…A study by Al-Lehibi et al 12 found that admissions due to AP in a Saudi hospital were 35.7 admissions/ year and biliary was the most common etiology. Earlier studies in Saudi Arabia at other tertiary care centers demonstrated an incidence of 5.2 admissions/year and 18.2 per year with similar etiological conclusions.…”

“…A possible explanation for this is that alcohol is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, which, as other Saudi studies have found,reduces occurrences of alcoholic pancreatitis. [12][13][14]19 Another is that patients did not disclose alcohol usage due to the sensitivity of this topic in Saud Arabia.…”