Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas. Over the past half century, this disease has been diagnosed twice as often, and the number of patients with both acute and chronic forms of the disease has increased. Most often, pathology occurs due to overeating, alcohol abuse. It is these causes of pancreatitis that often cause inflammation. Under the influence of provoking factors, the production of proteolytic enzymes is activated, which causes inflammation.
Most often the cause of pancreatitis is a violation of the diet. Approximately 95% of cases of the disease are associated with alcohol abuse, smoking, overeating. The remaining five percent is medication, cholelithiasis.
Why inflammation occurs
The pancreas is a secretory organ whose function isproduction of special hormones and juice. Without them, full digestion and normal metabolism are impossible.
The gland itself is an organ, about fifteen centimeters long and weighing about eighty grams. During the day, it produces up to one and a half liters of pancreatic secretion, which enters the duodenum.
The composition of the juice includes: lactose, m altase, trypsin, lipase. Its function is to neutralize stomach acid and aid in digestion. Also, this small organ produces glucagon, lycopoin, insulin, which are responsible for regulating blood sugar levels and are involved in carbohydrate metabolism, in the creation of phospholipids in the liver.
Causes of pathology
When the pancreas malfunctions, inflammation occurs. The main cause of pancreatitis is the lifestyle of a person, the food they eat. For the digestion of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, iron produces the appropriate enzymes: lipase for fats, trypsin for proteins, etc. With excessive consumption of food, the outflow of juice from the gland itself is disturbed, and it does not reach the duodenum. As a result of this process, digestion is disturbed, inflammatory processes develop, acute pancreatitis occurs, the causes of which can be not only overeating, but also trauma to the gastrointestinal tract.
Inflammation of the pancreas as an independent process does not happen. Most often, it is involved in the inflammatory process in other diseases of the digestive tract and not only.
Viewspancreatitis
Asking the question, what kind of disease is pancreatitis, the causes and symptoms leading to it, what do they look like? The clinic of pathology depends on the type of pancreatitis. Allocate acute, chronic and reactive type. Each of them has its own characteristics.
Chronic pancreatitis
Chronic pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that develops gradually and is accompanied by functional disorders. Periods of exacerbation alternate with remissions. With the right therapy, the remission period can last for years.
Acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis is characterized by inflammation and decomposition of the tissues of the organ, passing through several stages: atrophy, fibrosis and calcification of the organ. This type of disease can be manifested by inflammation of the entire organ or its individual parts.
Reactive pancreatitis
Reactive inflammation is a type of acute pancreatitis. Usually occurs with exacerbation of diseases of the digestive tract. Often this term is applied to patients who are at high risk of organ damage.
Causes of acute inflammation
Symptoms and causes of acute pancreatitis may be as follows:
- If the pathology is caused by a disease of the biliary tract, gallbladder, then there is a throwing of bile into the pancreatic ducts, causing various chemical processes. Bile promotes the release of enzymes that themselves damage the gland. This process damages the blood vesselshemorrhages.
- Pancreatitis can occur against the background of pathologies of the stomach and duodenum. In this form, there are violations of the gastrointestinal tract, including gastritis and ulcers, a decrease in motor function, and inflammatory processes in the duodenum. All this contributes to the formation of insufficiency of the sphincter of Oddi, a violation of the outflow of bile, pancreatic secretion. As a result, the organ is damaged by its own enzymes.
- Pancreatitis can be caused by hypertension, vascular atherosclerosis, pregnancy. In these conditions, the blood supply to the gland is disrupted. During pregnancy, the uterus can press on the organ, causing pancreatic ischemia.
- Inflammation can be caused by poisoning. It can be alcohol, acid, alkaline intoxication, poisoning caused by helminthic invasions, even the frequent use of vegetables and fruits with a high content of pesticides can cause illness.
- Acute pancreatitis can be caused by certain medications. Most often, pathology is caused by drugs such as Azathioprine, Metronidazole, Tetracycline, glucocorticosteroids, estrogen drugs, sulfonamides, NSAIDs and other medicines.
What else causes acute pancreatitis
Causes of acute pancreatitis can be not only the above, these include:
- Overeating. In violation of fat metabolism, enzymes are activated that corrode the body from the inside. With a chronic tendency to overeat, the risk of an illness increases several times, especially for those who love fatty, fried foods.food.
- Injuries. Sometimes, after unsuccessful operations on the gallbladder, as well as with blunt injuries of the organ, an acute pathology occurs.
- Infectious diseases. Chronic and acute viral pathologies, including: hepatitis, tonsillitis, parotitis, as well as any purulent diseases of the abdominal cavity can lead to pancreatitis.
- Genetic predisposition. This cause is rare, but not ruled out. Scientists have proven that there are a number of genetic disorders in which pancreatitis begins to develop in a child from birth.
- Alcohol. Even a small dose of alcohol can lead to acute pancreatitis or cause destructive processes in the gland.
World statistics data
According to statistics, the main cause of pancreatitis is alcohol. According to the data, over 40% of patients are alcoholics who have pancreatic necrosis or destructive pancreatitis. 30% are patients suffering from cholelithiasis. Approximately 20% are obese people of varying severity.
Infectious pathologies, medication, poisoning account for about 5%. The remaining five are congenital anomalies, genetic predisposition, congenital defects of the gastrointestinal tract.
Features of chronic pancreatitis
When the pathology proceeds with periods of exacerbation and remission, they speak of a chronic form of inflammation. As the progression progresses, pancreatic insufficiency develops: the glandular tissue of the organ undergoes changes,the processes of replacing damaged areas with connective tissue begin. It does not produce enzymes and juice, which can lead to a lack of enzymes. As a result, there are violations of the functioning of the organ.
The causes of chronic pancreatitis can be different, but most often the pathology is caused by eating disorders, eating processed foods, fast foods, and alcohol.
Stages of chronic inflammation
The following stages of chronic pancreatitis are distinguished: exacerbation and remission.
Causes, symptoms of pancreatitis in different stages are different. During remission, a period of rest begins, when the progression of the pathology stops, no destruction occurs in the organ, there are no clinical manifestations of the disease. The initial stage of exacerbation is mild and can last for many years, depending on the lifestyle and general he alth of the patient. The initial stage is followed by a period of deviations and dysfunctions of the organ, in which the symptoms become more pronounced.
Exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis is caused by a violation in the diet: consumption of spicy, fried, fatty foods, alcohol or carbonated drinks, especially on an empty stomach.
Clinical manifestations of acute inflammation of the gland
Symptoms, causes, treatment of pancreatitis in different forms of pathology are different. In acute inflammation, gland cells are damaged by their own enzymes. If onthe organ is affected by lipase, which is responsible for the breakdown of fats, this leads to fatty degeneration of the organ. Trypsin, which converts the protein, provokes chemical reactions that lead to swelling of the gland, followed by cell necrosis.
At the initial stage, aseptic necrosis of a local nature is observed. If you do not start urgent treatment, then nearby organs are involved in the pathological process, an infection joins, purulent complications occur. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to seek medical help at the first manifestations of acute pancreatitis.
- Girdle pain. Most often it is localized in the region of the left hypochondrium. The pain may radiate under the left shoulder blade, into the arm. At the first attack, the pain is not removed by medicines. The pain syndrome is so pronounced that it can cause pain shock, loss of consciousness, and cause death. The duration of the attack can be from an hour to several days.
- Lack of appetite, vomiting, nausea with no relief. There is an admixture of bile in the vomit.
- The body temperature rises to 38, the pulse quickens to 90 beats per minute, blood pressure decreases.
- Frequent burping, dry mouth, hiccups, heartburn.
- There is a yellow or white coating on the tongue.
- Belly swollen.
- Impaired defecation: diarrhea may alternate with constipation. There are undigested food residues in the stool.
- Changes the color of the skin. It may be pale, yellowish. The color of the sclera changes.
- Swiftly decreasing body weight, totalfeeling worse.
Exacerbation of the chronic form
No matter what the causes of pancreatitis in women and men and what type of pathology, pain is observed with this disease. However, in the chronic form, it is less pronounced than in acute pancreatitis. It occurs against the background of the development of an inflammatory process that affects the nerve endings of the gland. The pain syndrome can last a few seconds, or it can drag on for several days.
Decrease in pain syndrome is observed when bending down, squatting. Also, exacerbation of the chronic form is accompanied by the following clinical manifestations:
- Bloating.
- Violation of the act of defecation.
- Nausea, vomiting.
- Weight loss, deterioration in general condition.
- Dry skin, brittle hair, nails.
- Signs of vitamin deficiency appear.
- Fatigue increases.
- Metabolism is disturbed.
In the chronic form, tissue necrosis is sometimes observed, causing acute pain. This ailment requires urgent medical attention.
Complications of inflammation
If the causes of pancreatitis are established in a timely manner and treatment is started, then the likelihood of complications will be zero. In other cases, both acute and chronic forms can lead to serious complications, even death.
Most often, pathology leads to the development of diabetes mellitus, general exhaustion of the body, chronic intoxication of the body. If treatment is not started on time, thenpulmonary complications occur, pancreatic abscess, pancreatic ascites develop. Cysts can form in the tissues of the organ, obstructive jaundice appears.
With an exacerbation, infectious pathologies can develop in the tissues of the organ. Near the gland is a large aorta, through which the infection spreads throughout the body, causing sepsis. Other complications can include: hypovolemic shock, renal and hepatic failure, peritonitis, respiratory or cardiovascular failure, abdominal abscesses, fistula formation, and more.
Conclusion
According to various sources, up to 90% of patients suffering from the disease die from advanced pancreatitis. Most often this happens due to alcohol intoxication. All this suggests that it is necessary to conduct therapy in a timely manner, as well as to exclude alcohol in large quantities, to review the diet.
