Management of hypertriglyceridaemic pancreatitis in the acute setting and review of literature

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a potentially life-threatening complication of severe hypertriglyceridaemia, which is the third most common cause of AP after gallstone disease and alcohol excess. Standard therapy involves the use of lipid-lowering agents, low-molecular-weight heparin and insulin infusion. In some cases, when standard medical therapies fail, non-pharmacological methods based on the removal of triglycerides with therapeutic plasma exchange can provide positive results in the acute phase. There are currently no guidelines covering management in the acute phase, however, these approaches should be considered in severe or very severe hypertriglyceridaemia. Here, we report the case of a 37-year-old man with recurrent AP due to hypertriglyceridaemia and review the literature.