A Simple Guide to Pancreatitis, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Pancreatitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Pancreatitis is an acute or chronic pancreas inflammation
Chronic disease follows attacks of acute pancreas infection
The presence of gallstone is the most common cause of pancreatitis
Small gallstone blocked the bile duct causing pancreatic necrosis

Patients present with epigastric abdominal pain aggravated by eating
There may be also abdominal distension, nausea and vomiting
There may be mild fever, shock and hypotension
There may also abdominal tenderness and distension

Diagnosis is by high blood levels of lipase and amylase
An ultrasound scan may be done to look for pseudocyst in pancreas
Complications are damage to the pancreas or kidney function
There are also shortness of breath and poor food absorption

Treatment is immediate hospital treatment and admission
Pain management, nutritional support and IV hydration
Analgesic or antispasmodic medicine usually by injection
Most pancreatitis patients have complete resolution

-An original poem by Kenneth Kee

Recently a patient of mine returned from Hong Kong and had severe abdominal discomfort.

I suspected that it may food poisoning and prescribed a course of antibiotics and something to stop the abdominal cramp.

The abdominal persisted in spite of treatment so I referred him for an abdominal X-ray, ultrasound and blood tests at the nearest hospital.

Blood tests showed high levels of lipase and amylase.

Abdominal X-ray did not show any abnormality or gallstones.

Ct scan of the abdomen however showed diffuse swelling of the pancreas, suggesting together with high levels of lipase and amylase the presence of pancreatitis.

He was immediately admitted and put on a liquid diet with infusions of saline solution and antibiotics (for suspected infection) and analgesic.

His blood glucose is found to be high due to effect of reduced insulin production of the pancreas.

He has improved with the treatment and had been advised not to take excessive alcohol and fatty food which can affect his pancreas.

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas.

When the pancreas is inflamed, the enzymes inside it digest and injure the tissues that produce them.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic.

Either type can be serious and cause complications.

In severe pancreatitis, bleeding, infection and permanent tissue injury may happen.

Acute pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas that happens suddenly and resolves in a few days with treatment.
In most patients (80%), the inflammation is mild and recovers within a week
In some patients (20%) the inflammation becomes dangerous.
Parts of the pancreas and surrounding tissues may die from necrosis of the cells.

Chronic pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas that does not cure or become better.
It becomes worse over time and results in permanent injury.

Pancreatitis is normally caused by:
Alcoholism and diseases of the biliary tract
Bacterial infections (streptococcus)
Viral infection (mumps)
Trauma

Symptoms:
Acute abdominal pain starting from the epigastrium, radiating to the back
Pain normally severe after a large meal or drinking bout
Pain is worse lying supine
Mild fever and bodyaches

Diagnosis:
Abdminal tenderness in the epigastrium
Serum lipase and amylase very high
CAT scan for gallstones

Treatment:
Pain medicines
I/V Fluids
No food or fluid by mouth
Antibiotics for infections
Surgery of gallstone

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Pancreatitis
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Gallstone
Chapter 8 Pancreas Cancer
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Mar 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215694121

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Pancreatitis,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2023 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Pancreatitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Pancreatitis)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is an acute or chronic pancreas inflammation

Chronic disease follows attacks of acute pancreas infection

The presence of gallstone is the most common cause of pancreatitis

Small gallstone blocked the bile duct causing pancreatic necrosis

Patients present with epigastric abdominal pain aggravated by eating

There may be also abdominal distension, nausea and vomiting

There may be mild fever, shock and hypotension

There may also be abdominal tenderness and distension

Diagnosis is by high blood levels of lipase and amylase

An ultrasound scan may be done to look for pseudocyst in pancreas

Complications are damage to the pancreas or kidney function

There are also shortness of breath and poor food absorption

Treatment is immediate hospital treatment and admission

Pain management, nutritional support and IV hydration

Analgesic or antispasmodic medicine usually by injection

Most pancreatitis patients have complete resolution

-An original poem by Kenneth Kee

Recently a patient of mine returned from Hong Kong and had severe abdominal discomfort.

I suspected that it may food poisoning and prescribed a course of antibiotics and something to stop the abdominal cramp.

The abdominal persisted in spite of treatment so I referred him for an abdominal X-ray, ultrasound and blood tests at the nearest hospital.

Blood tests showed high levels of lipase and amylase.

Abdominal X-ray did not show any abnormality or gallstones.

Ct scan of the abdomen however showed diffuse swelling of the pancreas, suggesting together with high levels of lipase and amylase the presence of pancreatitis.

He was immediately admitted and put on a liquid diet with infusions of saline solution and antibiotics (for suspected infection) and analgesic.

His blood glucose is found to be high due to effect of reduced insulin production of the pancreas.

He has improved with the treatment and had been advised not to take excessive alcohol and fatty food which can affect his pancreas.

What is Pancreatitis?

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas.

When the pancreas is inflamed, the enzymes inside it digest and injure the tissues that produce them.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic.

Either type is serious and can lead to complications.

In serious instances of pancreatitis, bleeding, infection and permanent tissue injury may happen.

The gallbladder and the ducts that deliver bile and other digestive enzymes from the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas to the small intestine are parts of the biliary system.

Both types of pancreatitis happen more often in men than women.

The Pancreas:

The pancreas is large gland behind the stomach and partly enclosed by the duodenum the first part of the small intestine.

It makes a liquid that comprises chemicals (enzymes) that are necessary to digest food.

The enzymes are generated in the pancreatic cells and are secreted into tiny tubes or ducts.

These ducts attach together as branches of a tree to form the main pancreatic duct.

This drains the enzyme-rich liquid into the part of the small intestine just after the stomach (termed the duodenum).

The enzymes are passed out in an inactive form in the pancreas otherwise these enzymes are strong enough to digest the pancreas.

The enzymes are triggered in the duodenum to the active form to digest food.

Groups of special cells termed 'Islets of Langerhans' are found throughout the pancreas.

These cells secrete the hormones insulin and glucagon.

The hormones are delivered directly into the bloodstream to regulate the blood sugar level.

The bile duct supplies bile from the liver and gallbladder.

This connects the pancreatic duct just before it enters into the duodenum.

Bile also goes into the duodenum and helps to digest fatty food.

Acute pancreatitis:

Acute pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas that happens suddenly and normally resolves in a few days with treatment.

The digestive enzymes that are produced in the pancreas become activated and start to digest parts of the pancreas.

They are normally only activated after they arrive at the part of the small intestine just after the stomach (the duodenum).

This results in a range of chemical reactions that induce inflammation in the pancreas.

The way these above causes activate this reaction of events is not known.

In most patients (about 4 in 5), the inflammation is mild and recovers within a week or so.

Symptoms may be severe for a few days but then decrease and the pancreas fully resolves.

In some patients (about