Acute pancreatitis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Acute pancreatitis - Essay Example The very first assessment involved collecting the patient’s blood sample for testing and the results indicated that she had increased levels of digestive enzymes known as serum amylase. When these enzymes leak out of a malfunctioning pancreas, some is taken up into the blood, where high levels may be detected. As with other inflammatory condition, C-reactive protein (CRP) was also reported to be high. Higher levels of CRP indicate other serious diseases with a poor prognosis. Together with such signs and symptoms as sudden bloated stomach, abdominal pain, and ultrasound, the above increases attested to the presence of gall stones. In addition, a swollen pancreas was an indication that Mrs A was suffering from acute pancreatitis. This essay will define acute pancreatitis; explains its aetiology; its associated pathophysiology; as well as its pertinent epidemiology. It also looks at two interventions (examination of the levels of blood glucose and intravenous paracetamol adminis tration) that were applied in the management of the patient’s condition and gives an appraisal of the care applied towards meeting her needs. Although pancreatitis may be acute or chronic (Smith & Fawcett, 2006), the focus of this paper is on acute pancreatitis. As Smith & Fawcett explain, the pancreas is an elongated, slender organ located at the left upper side of the abdomen. Acute pancreatitis refers to a kind of inflammation that occurs rapidly causing an elevated level of pancreatic enzymes in the blood as well as upper abdominal pain (Zara, 2010). Acute pancreatitis occurs in two types namely necrotizing acute pancreatitis and interstitial pancreatitis, which accounts for eighty percent of all cases of acute pancreatitis (Zara, 2010). Research by the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) (2005) indicates that in the United Kingdom, the frequency of acute pancreatitis is getting higher – it ranges from 150-420 cases for every million populations. Acute pancre atitis may result from surgery, drugs, or trauma (Burruss & Holz, 2005). However, alcohol and gallstones bring lead to about eighty per cent of this condition (BSG, 2005). Nevertheless, Sargent (2006) explains that ten percent of acute pancreatitis could be idiopathic, meaning that a diagnostic cause has not been recognized. Ultra sound results on Mrs A confirmed that she had gallstones. Finding out her condition’s underlying root could consequently greatly enhance her condition’s management and it may as well assist in the prevention of more attacks. Even though it is generally agreed that this condition entails an intricate flow of incidents that begin in the acinar cell of the pancreas, it is not clear the way in which the particular method through which acute pancreatitis arises (Madhav et al., 2005). According to Parker (2004), one generally acceptable and common presumption is the fact this condition results from pancreatic acini’s disruption or injury, wh ich allows the seepage of such enzymes from the pancreas as elastase, chymotrypsin as well as trypsin into pancreatic tissue. The seeped enzymes are activated in this tissue, thereby instigating auto digestion as well as acute pancreatitis, as Parker explains (2004). Elastase, trypsin, and lipase activation breaks the cell membranes as well as the tissue down, leading to vascular destruction, haemorrhage, necrosis, as well as oedema (Madhav, et al., 2005). Once this takes place, it leads to an abrupt incisive pain in the upper abdominal region further (Holcomb, 2007). In most cases, the ache spreads out s to the backside and in most cases, it is linked to vomiting along with nausea. The