How serious is acute pancreatitis?

The pancreas is a very important organ in the human body. Together with the gallbladder and liver, it constitutes the human digestive system. The role of the pancreas is very critical and people cannot live without it. However, with the continuous development of modern living standards, more and more people have experienced major changes in their physical fitness. Various rare diseases are increasingly appearing in life, posing a greater threat to people's bodies. The pancreas is an organ that often becomes diseased, causing great impact on people's health. For example, acute pancreatitis is a relatively serious disease that requires immediate treatment. Let's take a look at how serious acute pancreatitis is.

Acute pancreatitis is an inflammatory reaction caused by the activation of pancreatic enzymes in the pancreas due to various causes, leading to self-digestion, edema, bleeding and even necrosis of pancreatic tissue. The clinical symptoms are acute upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and increased blood pancreatic enzymes. The severity of the lesions varies. In mild cases, pancreatic edema is the main symptom. It is common in clinical practice, and the condition is often self-limited with a good prognosis. It is also called mild acute pancreatitis.

1. Obstructive factors

Bile reflux is caused by biliary ascariasis, impacted stones in the ampulla of Vater, stenosis of the duodenal papilla, etc. If the lower end of the bile duct is obviously obstructed, the pressure in the bile duct is very high, and the high-pressure bile flows back into the pancreatic duct, causing the pancreatic alveoli to rupture, and pancreatic enzymes to enter the pancreatic interstitium, resulting in pancreatitis.

2. Alcohol Factor

Long-term drinkers are prone to pancreatitis. On this basis, when they drink a lot of alcohol or overeat, it promotes the secretion of a large amount of pancreatic enzymes, causing the pressure in the pancreatic duct to rise suddenly, causing the pancreatic alveoli to rupture, and the pancreatic enzymes to enter the interstitium between the alveoli and trigger acute pancreatitis. Consuming alcohol together with high-protein and high-fat foods not only increases the secretion of pancreatic enzymes, but also causes hyperlipoproteinemia. At this time, pancreatic lipase breaks down triglycerides to release free fatty acids and damage the pancreas.

3. Vascular factors

Acute thrombosis and obstruction of the small arteries and veins of the pancreas cause acute pancreatitis due to acute blood circulation disorders in the pancreas. Another factor is based on the obstruction of the pancreatic duct. When the pancreatic duct is obstructed, the high pressure in the pancreatic duct causes the pancreatic enzymes to passively "infiltrate" the interstitium. The stimulation of pancreatic enzymes causes embolism of lymphatic vessels, veins, and arteries in the interstitium, followed by ischemic necrosis of the pancreas.

4. Trauma

Pancreatic trauma causes pancreatic duct rupture, pancreatic fluid overflow, and insufficient blood supply after trauma, leading to acute severe pancreatitis.