One of the most known diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, along with gastritis and an ulcer, is pancreatitis. What kind of disease this will help any gastroenterologist to understand.
Causes of the problem
Pancreatitis is called pancreatic inflammation . This disease occurs against the background of eating fatty or spicy foods, constant overeating, and alcohol abuse.
The causes of the development of the disease include:
- damage to the vessels of the pancreas;
- injuries
- inflammatory processes in the abdominal cavity;
- infectious diseases.
Pancreatitis may begin:
- with the formation of sand or stones in the ducts of the gland;
- with problems with the gallbladder;
- due to inflammation of the papilla, in which the duct connecting the pancreas and the duodenum is located.
Often, against the background of acute cholecystitis, pancreatitis begins. What this disease is and how it manifests itself, everyone should know, because timely treatment helps not only to recover quickly, but also to prevent a possible fatal outcome.
Clinical picture
You can independently suspect a developing disease if you know what symptoms accompany acute and chronic pancreatitis. It is important to understand how treatment should be carried out.
Acute pancreatitis is a life-threatening disease. Its main symptom is acute pain, localized in the upper abdomen. She can give back. In addition, the disease is accompanied by other signs - nausea, vomiting, fever. A number of patients develop jaundice.
The pain can be either cutting or dull, and it does not go away on its own. As the disease progresses, discomfort intensifies and can even cause pain shock. If all the gland is affected, then the sensations are girdling. They can also be localized both in the right and in the left hypochondrium.
Vomiting does not bring relief to patients, although it can be quite frequent. Bile may be present in the contents. Typical signs of pancreatitis are dry mouth, hiccups, belching. The condition of a patient with acute pancreatitis quickly worsens. The patient may increase body temperature, lower pressure, and cold sweat also appears . In the language you can see a plentiful plaque. In this case, the skin becomes pale, up to an earthy gray color, facial features are sharpened.
Other forms of the disease
Despite the fact that acute pancreatitis is a deadly disease, often recovery begins spontaneously. If a person does not abuse alcohol, then the gland tissue does not collapse, and no irreversible changes occur.
Sometimes pain can indicate that a slightly different disease is developing. Chronic pancreatitis is also accompanied by a feeling of discomfort, disruption of the digestive system. In this case, the stool becomes oily with a pronounced fetid odor. With the disease, weight loss becomes noticeable, signs of a lack of vitamins appear.
A chronic form of pancreatitis can cause diabetes. After all, with it, the cells that produce insulin begin to break down. This form often begins after the acute stage of the disease is left without treatment.
Doctors separately isolated reactive pancreatitis. What kind of disease is it, not everyone can figure out without consulting a specialist. After all, it begins against the background of an acute disease of another organ of the digestive system. Therefore, the symptoms can be lubricated, mixed with signs of other diseases.
Diagnosis of diseases
To establish an accurate diagnosis, an examination is necessary. For example, on an ultrasound scan you can see how the pancreas looks . Symptoms and treatment are closely interconnected. Therefore, an important role is given to the conversation with the patient, unless, of course, he is able to speak.
Mandatory examinations include not only ultrasound, but also a check of the level of enzymes. To do this, examine the blood and determine the concentration of amylase and lipase. As an additional diagnostic method in clinics, computed tomography is used.
Determination of the chronic form of pancreatitis
When a patient visits a gastroenterologist with complaints of pain, nausea, oily stool, the doctor will prescribe a series of examinations. Check the level of elastase in the feces, the presence of undigested fat. In the presence of steatorrhea, they speak of malfunctions of the pancreas.
Ultrasound diagnostics are also prescribed to make the correct diagnosis. Confirm or refute the conclusion in doubtful cases will help tomography. Also, if necessary, a test is carried out using special preparations whose action is aimed at stimulating the pancreas. Given that the chronic form of the disease leads to the development of diabetes, it is important to check the level of glucose in the blood serum. It is necessary to examine the patient, as complications of pancreatitis may develop.
Disease classification
Doctors separately distinguish several types of chronic pancreatitis. Depending on the clinical manifestations, it may be asymptomatic, tumor-like, dyspeptic or painful.
An experienced gastroenterologist can establish a certain form of the disease after a comprehensive examination. When dyspeptic, the patient has chronic diarrhea, he suffers from bloating and weight loss. The pseudotumor form in symptoms resembles pancreatic cancer. It is characterized by yellowness of the skin and sclera.
The most strange form is considered asymptomatic pancreatitis. The stages of the disease pass unnoticed by the patient himself - practically nothing bothers him. Pathology can progress over several years, while irreversible changes in the tissues of this organ begin.
The painful form of chronic pancreatitis is characterized by the fact that after each intake of fatty, spicy food or alcohol, the patient is worried about severe discomfort.
First aid
Having felt the pain for the first time, it is difficult for himself to make a diagnosis of pancreatitis. What kind of disease is this, as a rule, the doctor already tells the patients. But, knowing the signs of the disease, it is easier to determine the tactics of action.
First of all, you need to give up food and water. All this only further irritates the pancreas. You need to know that taking the usual antispasmodics or analgesics in this case is useless. You can reduce discomfort a little if you try to relax and lie down. You can also apply cold to a sore spot.
Please note that taking any medication can only blur the clinical picture and complicate the diagnosis.
In the chronic form of pancreatitis, which is accompanied by regular attacks, it is important to remember the need to follow a diet, avoid stress and completely eliminate alcohol.
Acute treatment
There are basic rules by which a disease is treated. First, the pancreas needs to recover. Symptoms and treatment are determined by an experienced gastroenterologist.
In the acute form, it is important to completely refuse food for 3 days. During this period, only water is allowed, unsweetened weak tea and a rosehip broth. You can relieve inflammation and swelling with a cold heating pad attached to the pancreas. It is also important to observe complete peace. This can reduce the intensity of blood flow in the internal organs, including in the pancreas.
You can relieve pain with the help of narcotic analgesics. Saline solutions, plasma, Albumin, Reopoliglyukin are also administered intravenously. In the acute period, enzyme inhibitors Gordoks and Kontrikal are recommended.
Such drugs for pancreatitis as Omeprazole, Kvamatel are also prescribed. With a purulent or severe form of the disease, antibiotics are selected. Cephalosporins or fluoroquinolones are used.
In some cases, surgery is indicated. This is necessary for destructive pancreatitis, signs of an inflammatory process in the peritoneum and in the absence of the result of conservative treatment.
Chronic pancreatitis: treatment options
Regardless of the type and form of the disease, it is necessary to treat it under the guidance of a gastroenterologist. One of the main recommendations is to give up alcohol and smoking. A special enzyme replacement therapy is also prescribed. At the initial stage, when the pain has just appeared, you can use antispasmodics "Drotaverin", "No-shpa", "Sparex", "Duspatalin." The use of drugs aimed at suppressing the production of enzymes by the pancreas, for example, "Octreotide", is shown. A short course can be used antisecretory drugs "Diacarb", "Omeprazole."
It is important to follow a lifelong diet with a lack of fatty, spicy, fried foods. It is also indicated if chronic biliary pancreatitis has developed . This disease is characterized by the fact that it begins against a blockage in the biliary tract. Treatment in this case can be carried out operatively. Perhaps such patients need to remove the gallbladder.