Possible complications of chronic pancreatitis

The article is professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Dong Xuan Ha - Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine - Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital.

The most feared complication of chronic pancreatitis is fatal with a rate of up to 50% within 20-25 years. In addition, the disease also limits or does not produce insulin leading to diabetes; does not ensure the function of secreting digestive enzymes, causing the patient to be malnourished or causing consequences such as eye damage, high blood pressure, foot ulcers....

1.1 What is chronic pancreatitis? The pancreas is located in the upper left area of ​​the abdomen, whose main functions are to produce digestive enzymes that are carried to the small intestine to help digest food, and to release insulin, glucagon, and other hormones that help regulate levels blood sugar. Chronic pancreatitis arises when digestive enzymes activate while in the pancreas and begin to digest pancreatic tissue on its own, leading to an inflammatory response and complications from chronic pancreatitis.
1.2 Causes of Chronic Pancreatitis Severe and long-term alcohol abuse is the most common cause of chronic pancreatitis. Some estimates suggest that the use of alcoholic beverages causes about 70% of cases of chronic pancreatitis in adults. Other potential causes and risk factors for pancreatitis include:
Toxic metabolism: Causes related to toxic metabolism and risk factors for chronic pancreatitis include chronic renal failure , hyperlipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia, hypercalcemia, toxins, and various drugs such as statins, steroids, valproic acid, oral contraceptives, and interferon. Idiopathic disease (cause unknown). Heredity: Associated with genetic mutations, including the PRSS1 gene (called hereditary pancreatitis), CFTR, and SPINK1. Autoimmune Diseases: Autoimmune causes of chronic pancreatitis involve autoimmune problems in the pancreatic tissue, as well as causes associated with other autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, Sjögren's syndrome, and biliary cirrhosis. Without definitive treatment of severe acute pancreatitis, it may recur to chronic pancreatitis. Certain surgical procedures, infections, such as measles (uncommon), pancreatic or intestinal malformations. Obstruction of the pancreas: includes conditions that block the pancreatic duct, such as tumours, congenital duplication (no pancreatic duct), and disorders involving the sphincter of Oddi. 1.3. How does chronic pancreatitis present? Chronic pancreatitis has typical symptoms of abdominal pain, back pain. The pain is usually dull, persistent, and the abdominal pain usually goes away as the disease gets worse. Therefore, seeing the disappearance of abdominal pain in chronic pancreatitis is a bad sign because it can mean that the pancreas has stopped working.
Some other symptoms in chronic pancreatitis are caused by complications from long-term chronic pancreatitis such as weight loss and nutrient deficiencies or bleeding leading to anemia or liver damage causing jaundice or diarrhea, fatty stools , fever, nausea, vomiting, weakness, frequent urination or blurred vision due to lack of insulin lead to diabetes.

The most concerning complication of chronic pancreatitis is death. According to some studies, the mortality rate can reach 50% within 20-25 years, 15-20% die. Complications of chronic pancreatitis include:
Pseudocyst Acute pancreatitis can cause fluid and cyst-like tissue damage in the pancreas. Large cysts will lead to rupture and can cause complications such as internal bleeding and infection.
Infection Acute pancreatitis can make the pancreas vulnerable to bacteria and infections. Pancreatic infections are extremely serious and require intensive treatment, such as surgery to remove infected tissue.
Renal failure Acute pancreatitis can cause kidney failure complications, patients may need dialysis if the kidney failure is severe and prolonged.
Bad Breath Acute pancreatitis can cause chemical changes in your body that affect lung function resulting in bad breath and cause blood oxygen levels to drop to dangerously low levels.
Diabetes Damaged insulin-producing cells from the effects of pancreatitis can lead to diabetes - affecting the way the body uses blood sugar.
Malnutrition Both acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis can cause the pancreas to produce less of the enzymes needed to break down and process nutrients in the foods you eat. This will likely lead to malnutrition, diarrhea and weight loss.
Pancreatic cancer Chronic pancreatitis is considered one of the risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer develops in 4% of patients over the course of 20 years.

With the dangers of complications caused by chronic pancreatitis as above, specialist doctors recommend that people should not drink a lot of alcohol and beer. For patients who have ever had chronic pancreatitis, it is necessary to abstain from alcohol completely to reduce the risk of recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis. Deworming should be done every 6 months as prescribed by the doctor. When you have gallstones, you need to actively treat them, because gallstones in addition to acute pancreatitis also cause many other dangerous complications that cannot be ignored. Limit the intake of animal fats and fats as much as possible. Eat small meals, choose foods that are easy to digest, eat more vegetables, eat more fruits and drink enough water every day. Chronic pancreatitis causes many dangerous complications that, if not treated promptly, can be life-threatening. Therefore, when there are signs of chronic pancreatitis, you should go to the hospital for an examination, diagnosis and appropriate treatment plan. Pancreatic ultrasound is a way to help detect and diagnose some pancreatic diseases quickly and effectively. If you suspect you have pancreatic disease, you can come to Vinmec International General Hospital System, which is one of the prestigious hospitals in the country, Vinmec uses modern generations of color ultrasound machines. current in the examination and treatment of patients. One of them is GE Healthcarecar's Logig E9 ultrasound machine with full options, HD resolution probes for clear images, accurate assessment of lesions. In addition, a team of experienced doctors and nurses will greatly assist in the diagnosis and early detection of abnormal signs of the body in order to provide timely treatment for pancreatic diseases.
With 14 years of experience in the field of Endoscopy - Gastroenterology, Doctor Dong Xuan Ha proficiently performs diagnostic gastrointestinal endoscopy techniques, emergency interventions and therapeutic interventions. Currently, he is a gastroenterologist at the Department of General Internal Medicine, Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital.