Preview

Pancreatitis: Pancreas and Gastrointestinal Inflammatory Agents

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1372 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pancreatitis: Pancreas and Gastrointestinal Inflammatory Agents
Pancreatitis
Brandon C. Hyatt
Salem State University

The first part of this paper will be an overview of the pathophysiology of pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas, and the second part will elaborate on my clinical experience with a patient I was taking care that suffered from pancreatitis.
The pancreas is the organ within the human body that is located underneath the stomach and is responsible for insulin production and other certain digestive enzymes. Inflammation in the pancreas is caused by the infiltration of pancreatic enzymes into the tissues of the pancreas, which in turn cause irritation and edema to the surrounding tissues (Lewis et al., 2007). There are two types of pancreatitis, acute and chronic, of which both exhibit similar symptoms. Vege (2010) states, “once the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis has been established, the cause of the pancreatitis should be determined. Gallstones and alcohol abuse account for 60 to 75 percent and should be diligently looked for in all patients presenting with pancreatitis.”
Acute pancreatitis is a short-term condition of which the inflammatory process will generally remain localized in the pancreas. According to Vege (2010), symptoms of acute pancreatitis mainly consist of severe upper abdominal pain and increased blood levels of pancreatic digestive enzymes. The pain may be localized to the upper left and/or right quadrant of the abdomen, or the mid-epigastrium. Pain can range from mild to severe, may be steady or infrequent, and it can localize in the pancreas or radiate to other organs and parts of the body, such as the back. A patient may experience a slight fever, nausea, vomiting, swollen or distended abdomen, and increased blood pressure.
Chronic pancreatitis is a long-term condition of which the symptoms can come and go throughout the remainder of the patient’s lifetime. Freedman (2009) states, “patients with chronic calcifying disease, particularly those who develop early



References: Lewis, Sharon L., RN, PhD. et al. (2007). Disorders of the Pancreas, Medical-Surgical Nursing (pages 1118-1125). St. Louis, MO. Freedman, Steven D., MD, PhD. (2009). Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis in adults. Retrieved from http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~EzkfCtNwumVrg Vege, Santhi Swaroop, MD. (2010). Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Retrieved from http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~6pp6uT1OKQbJN Vege, Santhi Swaroop, MD. (2010). Treatment of acute pancreatitis. Retrieved from http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~vZvZZV7O4bEjQw

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: This 46-year-old gentleman with past medical history significant only for degenerative disease of the bilateral hips, secondary to arthritis, presents to the emergency room after having had three days of abdominal pain. It initially started three days ago and was a generalized vague abdominal complaint. Earlier this morning, the pain localized and radiated to the right lower quadrant. He had some nausea without emesis. He was able to tolerate p.o. earlier around 6am, but he now denies having an appetite. Patient had a very small bowel movement earlier this morning that was not normal for him. He has not passed gas this morning. He's voiding well. He denies fever, chills, or night sweats. The pain has localized to the RLQ (right lower quadrant) without radiation at this point. He has never had a colonoscopy.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    INDICATIONS: This gentleman is a 46-year-old Caucasian male with a 3 day history of abdominal pain. However, over the past 24 hours his pain is located to the right lower quadrant and caused a significant amount of anorexia. He presented to the emergency department. CT…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Benjarmin Engelhart

    • 746 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Patient admits to alcohol ingestion nightly and on weekends. Denies tobacco use, denie s illicit drug use. He is married. FAMILY HISTORY: There is no history of cancer or in flammatory bowel disease in his family.…

    • 746 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    History of present illness: On 9/13/09 patient presented with severe ABD pain in ED. A computed tomography Scan (CT-Scan) of the abdomen and pelvis with contrast was performed; showing severe pancreatitis with prominent pancreas…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    case 2

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: This 46-year-old gentleman with past medical history significant only for degenerative disease of the bilateral hips, secondary to arthritis. Present to the emergency room after having had three days of abdominal pain. It initially started three days ago and was a generalized vague abdominal complaint. Earlier this morning the pain localized and radiated down to the right lower quadrant he had some nausea and without emesis. He was able to tolerate p.o. earlier around 6 a.m., but he now denies having an appetite. Patient had a very small bowel movement this morning that was not normal for him, he has not passed gas this morning he's avoiding well. He denies fevers, chills or night sweats the pain is localized though the RLQ what out radiation at this point. He has never had a colonoscopy.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cholecystitis Case Study

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder that can be classified as acute or chronic (Huether & McCance, 2012). However, whether it be acute or chronic both forms are caused by a gallstone, solid components of bile, occluding the cystic duct. Moreover, gallstones can be classified as pigment gallstones and cholesterol stones. Pigment gallstones occur when unconjugated pigments in the bile precipitate and turn in to stones (Huether & McCance, 2012). On the other hand, the majority of cholecystitis cases are caused by cholesterol stones, which results when bile becomes supersaturated with cholesterol and precipitates to form stones (Huether & McCance, 2012). Furthermore, when the gallstone occludes the cystic duct it obstructs bile outflow…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pseudocysts represent roughly 80% of all pancreatic cystic lesions. Affected patients often have a history of chronic alcohol abuse, acute pancreatitis, or abdominal trauma. CT imaging demonstrates a round, homogenous, hypodense cyst with near water density and a well-defined fibrous wall, which enhances with contrast. Parenchymal inflammatory changes and infiltration of the peripancreatic fat are suggestive. Serous cystadenomas are benign lesions, most commonly seen in the head of the pancreas. These can be oligocystic or microcystic, with multiple 5-29 mm cysts present within a larger pancreatic cyst. On contrast enhanced CT, a thin enhancing wall with a central fibrous scar is highly specific. An IPMT appears as a multicystic lesion with associated ductal dilation. A significantly dilated pancreatic duct may mimic a MCN on imaging. A bulging ampulla of Vater with mucus secretion and/or communication between cystic regions and the pancreatic duct on ERCP, however, are characteristic of…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pancreatic Cancer Essay

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive type of cancer that will be diagnosed in approximately 53,070 Americans this year alone; 41,780 will die of it. (1) The pancreas is an organ essential in maintaining homeostasis in the body, it secretes hormones and enzymes that help us in the digestion of fats. Due to its “invasiveness, rapid progression and profound resistance to treatment” (3), pancreatic cancer is the fourth cause of cancer death in the United States.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

    • 3611 Words
    • 15 Pages

    The exocrine cells of the pancreas produce enzymes that help with digestion, while the endocrine cells produce hormones that aid in blood sugar regulation. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a cancer that manifests in the exocrine gland cells of the pancreas (“What is pancreas?”, 2015). Pancreatic adenocarcinoma constitutes about 95% of pancreatic cancer occurrences and it is currently the most deadly carcinoma with an overall 5 year survival rate of about 5% (Brouda, 2010; Castellanos & Merchant…

    • 3611 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    T.B. is a 65-year-old retiree who is admitted to your unit from the emergency department (ED). On arrival you note that he is trembling and nearly doubled over with severe abdominal pain. T.B. indicates that he has severe pain in the right upper quadrant (RUQ) of his abdomen that radiates through to his mid-back as a deep, sharp boring pain. He is more comfortable walking or sitting bent forward rather than lying flat in bed. He admits to having had several similar bouts of abdominal pain in the last month, but “none as bad as this.” He feels nauseated but has not vomited, although he did vomit a week ago with a similar episode. T.B. experienced an acute onset of pain after eating fish and chips at a fast-food restaurant earlier today. He is not happy to be in the hospital and is grumpy that his…

    • 1681 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Groove/paraduodenal pancreatitis: Groove or paraduodenal pancreatitis is a rare type of focal chronic pancreatitis; which can affect the groove between the head of the pancreas, the duodenum, and the common bile duct. The rest of the pancreatic parenchyma is slightly compromised or spared (Blasbalg et al, 2007).…

    • 224 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pancreatic cancer can rapidly spread and it can be detected in the early stages, and the major reason is the leading cause of cancer death. Signs and symptoms may not appear until pancreatic cancer is advanced and it’s completely removal if it possible. Andre will have to make an appointment to speak to his doctor regarding his treatment. Andre concerns are being able to spend more time with his family, and order to help him he will need to let the doctor know if he is having any of these symptoms like having upper abdominal pain that can radiate to his back, yellowing of the skin, loss of appetite, weight loss, depression, and blood clots. If Andre is experiencing any of these symptoms it will be a good time for Andre to make that appointment (Mayo Clinic Retrieved July 10,…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr. Frederick Banting was a surgeon with a bachelor’s degree in medicine. Dr. Banting practiced medicine in Toronto, Canada. In 1920 he had the idea that the pancreas secreted a digestive juice from the islets of Langerhans which in turned caused harm to the pancreas. Up until this point nobody knew what the islet of Langerhans produced or secreted, a student discovered these islets but did not know their purpose and these islets are named after the student who discovered them. Dr. Banting believed that if he stopped the flow from the pancreatic ducts to the pancreas it would cause the pancreas to shrink and lose its ability to secrete its digestive juices. Then after that was done they could go into the pancreas and extract the antidiabetic secretion without it being damaged. He then took his idea to a professor who was in charge of the study of diabetes at the University Of Toronto. His idea wasn’t took into consideration much but he convinced the professor and was given a lab with minimal equipment, ten dogs and a student by the name of Charles Best.…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    My family never knew that pancreatic cancer was such a deadly disease that can creep up on you, until my aunt, Cathy L. Usey, was diagnosed with it in Aug.2008. My aunt Cathy better known as Big Mama was a 13 year breast cancer survivor when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I know you're probably thinking the same thing my family was thinking "how could someone who had already survived a cancer be diagnosed with another cancer and a very deadly cancer at that." Big Mama was the backbone of our family, the life of the party, a giving as well as a very forgiving person no matter the circumstances. I could go on and on about this lovely lady we called Big Mama. She was a daughter, a mother of two sons, a stepmother, grandmother, a wife, a sister, an aunt, a best friend to many, a manager of employees who absolutely adored her. Anyone who crossed her path she greeted them with a smile and ALWAYS treated others with such respect & would give her shirt off her back to a stranger if they asked her for it. Unfortunately Cathy passed on May 17, 2009, but she didn't go without a fight, and we know she is watching us and guiding us to make a difference toward finding a cure for this horrific disease. Big Mama touched so many lives and it’s so hurtful that a disease like pancreatic cancer took this beautiful lady from us. It’s also hurtful that there is not that much research on pancreatic cancer as there is for other cancers. Cancer falls at #6 on the list of government funded research diseases, but it should be #1 due to how many lives it affects every second.…

    • 1984 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    exenatide

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The true incidence of exenatide-associated pancreatitis has been difficult to determine, and it is unknown whether exenatide causes pancreatitis. Pancreatitis occurs more frequently in individuals with diabetes,5 and people with type 2 diabetes often have multiple risk factors for pancreatitis.6 Analyses of large claims and pharmacy databases have shown no apparent increased risk for pancreatitis in patients taking exenatide,7–9 while a concern over the possibility of an increased risk of pancreatic cancer from exenatide use has been raised in the FDA adverse event reporting system (AERS) database.10 However, this analysis has been criticized regarding the limitations of using the AERS database for determining event rates.11…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics