Etiological differences in demographics, clinical course and consequences of acute pancreatitis: a retrospective study

Abstract

Aim: The study is intended to consider acute pancreatitis from the point of view of its etiological structure, as well as demographic description, features of the clinical course, distribution of morphological forms, severity and consequences of the disease in different etiological variants. Materials and Methods: The work was based on a retrospective analysis of the medical records of 677 patients with acute pancreatitis who underwent inpatient treatment from 2017 to 2022 in an emergency hospital and a tertiary regional hospital in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Results: The etiological structure of the general sample was as follows: the alimentary factors – 37,5% of cases, biliary – 18,6%, alcohol – 14,0% and postoperative – 7,8%, respectively. The oldest patients were observed in the group with biliary AP (age [median, interquartile range] 61 [46-72] years), the youngest – in the group with alcoholic AP (age [median, interquartile range] 40 [35-47] years). Men significantly predominated in the groups with alimentary and alcoholic AP. A significant predominance of women was observed in the group with biliary AP (62,7% vs. 37,3%, p=0,0003). The highest mortality was in the alcoholic AP group (22,1%), also here was a significantly lower rate of inpatient bed days (6,0). Edematous AP was dominant in all etiological variants. While infected necrotic pancreatitis was significantly more often found in patients with alcoholic genesis (7,4%). Conclusions: The etiologic variations of acute pancreatitis differ by demographic and clinical indicators and require more detailed study to understand its prognosis, management, and development of effective prevention and treatment strategies.