Hypertriglyceridemia induced acute pancreatitis: 4 years' experience from a tertiary care institute and quick literature review

Abstract

Hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is infrequent but an established etiology that can trigger recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis. The risk of acute pancreatitis is significant when serum triglycerides levels surpass >1000 mg/dL. Although the severity of HTG-induced acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP) may be correlated to higher HTG levels in the early stages, the overall clinical outcomes are similar to other aetiologies. The initial management also differs from the routine recommendations with additional diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. This retrospective case series includes a 4-year experience with HTG-AP at our facility and a brief literature review.

Keywords

• hypertriglyceridemia
• insulin
• novel therapeutics
• pancreatitis
• plasmapheresis