Alcoholic pancreatitis: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

reasons that can lead to inflammation of the pancreas, several. Among them, the main ones are malnutrition and alcohol abuse. In the latter case, alcoholic pancreatitis develops, the symptoms of which are similar in many respects to other varieties of pancreatitis.

Symptoms

Clinical manifestations of alcoholic pancreatitis have both common features, characteristic for this disease, and some features.

The main symptom remains pain in the upper half of the abdomen. But often there may not be a clear localization. There is a pain in the epigastric region and in the right hypochondrium. This localization is associated with concomitant diseases. With alcohol abuse, gastroduodenitis, cholecystitis, hepatitis and cirrhosis often develop. In particular, alcoholic cirrhosis is noted in almost 50% of cases in patients with alcoholic pancreatitis.

In case of pain, some alcohol abusers try to remove it with the help of an additional amount of alcoholic beverages. In this case, acute symptoms are smeared and a person does not immediately consult a doctor. With the drunkenness of drunkenness, the pain syndrome goes to the background, it is observed only in 15% of cases. In this case, a painless type of pancreatitis is more common.

If we talk about the characteristics of pain, then with alcoholic pancreatitis, secondary enteritis is often associated with a violation of the bile-forming function of the liver. In this case, the pain begins to be cramped in character and localized in the peripodal region.

As the disease progresses, vomiting comes first among the symptoms. She is preceded by nausea, and subsequent vomiting, as a rule, does not bring relief. There may also be dry mouth, bloating.

Stool changes are observed. The initial stage of the disease is characterized by constipation. Later, the stool becomes more unstable, with constipation alternating with diarrhea.

Forms

There are two varieties of alcoholic pancreatitis:

• acute;
• chronic.

In the first case, the disease develops rapidly under the influence of consuming large quantities of alcohol or its surrogates. Moreover, an additional factor is the combination of alcohol with a lot of fatty foods.

Chronic alcoholic pancreatitis is diagnosed more often. It develops gradually against a background of constant alcohol abuse.

Diagnostics

Several diagnostic methods are required for the correct diagnosis:

1. Laboratory diagnostics.
   Blood and urine tests are performed to determine the content of
   pancreatic enzymes in them. Also, a coprological examination is required( neutral fat and creatororea are often determined).
2. Ultrasound examination. This method allows visually
   to assess the condition of the pancreas. Deflection and unevenness of its contours, hyperechoic tissue of this organ are determined. Changes in the ducts of the gland can also be detected.
3. Computed tomography.
4. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography.

Treatment

The main thing in the treatment of this type of pancreatitis is a complete refusal of alcohol. If there is a dependency, then appropriate treatment is necessary.

The treatment itself can be:

• conservative;
• surgical.

The goal of conservative treatment is to provide the pancreas with functional rest. This requires for a while to completely abandon the food and drink only water. After 2-3 days, it is possible to gradually introduce certain foods into the diet. In particular, it can mucous soups, ground milk porridge, vegetable purees, kissels.

From the diet should be excluded products that contain a large number of extractives, coarse fiber( fish and meat broths, strong vegetable and mushroom broths, fatty fish and meat, smoked meat, buns, spices, spices).All these products have the ability to stimulate the secretion of digestive juices.

Drug therapy is aimed at the removal of the pain syndrome, as well as the correction of endocrine and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. To this end, prescribed analgesics, antispasmodics, preparations of pancreatin.

Surgical treatment is required in the case of obstructive form of alcoholic pancreatitis and with ineffective conservative treatment. In this case, endoscopic papillosphincterotomy can be performed.

Prevention

Among the main preventive measures are the following:

• exclude the reception of alcoholic beverages;
• to limit the consumption of fatty and spicy food;
• nutrition and diet.

Forecast

Depending on the severity of alcoholic pancreatitis, one can talk about the prognosis of the disease, as well as the duration of the patient. If the pathological changes in the pancreas are still insignificant, then with the refusal of alcohol the functions of this organ can be restored. With the running process, as well as non-compliance with diet and frequent intake of alcoholic beverages, the frequency of exacerbations increases, while another attack can result in death.

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