Abstract

Background/aim: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a clinical situation that should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with complaints of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. The aim of this study is to investigate the in-hospital morbidity and mortality of patients with acute pancreatitis at our clinic.

Materials and Methods: In total, 159 patients with acute pancreatitis were included in the study and analyzed retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups: those over 65 years old and those younger than 65 years. The demographic characteristics, severity, treatment, patient prognoses,and hospitalization duration were recorded. The relationship between APseverity, etiological factors, age, gender, length of stay, and prognosis was investigated for both groups.

Results: Acute biliary pancreatitis was detected in 99 (62.3) of the 159 patients. Biliary causes were significantly higher among the elderly group. There was no relationship between disease severity and demographic characteristics or clinical and laboratory findings.

When the hospitalization period was compared between age groups, the hospitalization period for the group over 65 years was found to be significantly longer than that of the other group. The mortality rate was 0% in the group younger than 65 years and 3.2% in the group older than 65 years (three patients). This rate was not statistically significant due to the low incidence of death.

Conclusion: Gallstonesis a leading cause in the etiology of AP. Prognostic scoring systems should be used to determine the disease severity and age should be considered an additional risk factor in the increased morbidity and mortality of AP.