Amount of alcohol is an important determinant of the severity of acute alcoholic pancreatitis.
BACKGROUND
Does the amount of recently consumed alcohol correlate with the severity of acute alcoholic pancreatitis?


METHODS
One hundred one consecutive episodes of acute pancreatitis (AP) were prospectively studied. Seventy-three were alcoholic AP episodes; 40 patients had their first alcoholic AP episode. A standard personal interview was used to determine the alcohol consumption during 2 months and during 1 week before AP. The severity of AP was evaluated according to the Ranson criteria, the serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration measured 24 to 48 hours after admission, the length of the hospital stay, the development of complications, and the mortality rate.


RESULTS
In the 40 patients having their first alcoholic AP episode, the reported 2-month alcohol consumption correlated significantly with the number of positive Ranson criteria (correlation coefficient r = 0.44, p < 0.01), serum CRP concentration (r = 0.51, p < 0.001), and the length of the hospital stay (r = 0.45, p < 0.01). Complications occurred in eight of 14 patients with 2-month alcohol consumption of more than 5000 gm as compared with one of 14 patients with consumption of less than 2000 gm (p < 0.05). In the same 40 patients the 1-week alcohol consumption correlated with the number of positive Ranson criteria (r = 0.40, p < 0.05) and serum CRP concentration (r = 0.37, p < 0.05). Of the 12 patients who had consumed more than 1000 gm alcohol during the last week before admission, two died and complications developed in six (50%), as compared with none (p < 0.05) and six (21%), respectively, of those who had consumed less than 1000 gm. No significant correlations were observed between the reported alcohol consumption and any of the severity parameters in the 33 patients with recurrent episodes of alcoholic AP.


CONCLUSIONS
The amount of alcohol consumed may be an important determinant of the severity of the first alcoholic AP episode but not of recurrent alcoholic AP.
Jaakkola
M
M
Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland.
Sillanaukee
P
P
Löf
K
K
Koivula
T
T
Nordback
I
I
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000209:etiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies