[Etiology on determining the severity of acute pancreatitis].
BACKGROUND
There exist contradictory results regarding the role of etiology in severity and mortality of acute pancreatitis. In the population of "Hospital General de México" we stablished their importance.


METHODS
We carried out a retrospective, comparative, longitudinal, and observational study. We determined sex, age, time of evolution, and subjective nutritional state of patients with diagnosis of acute pancreatitis from January 1, of 1996 to December 31, 2000. We compared days of hospitalization, severity, and mortality according to etiology.


RESULTS
Ninety five patients were studied, 54% with biliarY and 41% with alcoholic etiology. Differences did not exist in ages and times of symptom evolution, but did in distribution by sex and nutritional state. There were no differences in days of hospitalization but there were differences in severity and mortality when comparing groups of different etiologies.


CONCLUSIONS
In acute pancreatitis, etiology is the decisive factor of severity and mortality, although this can be conditioned by sex of patient and nutritional state.
Sánchez-Lozada
Raúl
R
Servicio de Cirugía General, Hospital General de México O.D. Secretaría de Salud, Dr. Balmis 148, Col. Doctores, Del. Cuauhtémoc, D.F. C.P. 06726.
Acosta-Rosero
Ana Vanessa
AV
Chapa-Azuela
Oscar
O
Hurtado-López
Luis Mauricio
LM
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D019283:Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D019512:Pancreatitis, Alcoholic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate