What is biliary pancreatitis? Symptoms and Prevention

In many people, the pancreas's work begins to fail, its inflammation occurs due to a violation of the bile's output. Biliary pancreatitis develops, which most often affects adults. This disease is treatable, but with the timely availability of a doctor and compliance with all necessary prescriptions. Thanks to the effective treatment of the pancreas, the patient quickly returns to the habitual way of life.

Features of the disease

Biliary pancreatitis occurs with cholelithiasis. It develops as a result of throwing fluid into the ducts of the pancreas, causing its inflammation. This process indicates a malfunction in the gallbladder.

In a healthy person, the pressure in the ducts of this organ is much lower than the level of pressure in the ducts of the pancreas. Its increase indicates the occurrence of an obstacle that does not allow the bile to normally exercise its current. This may be due to obstruction of the ducts, most often stones. All this leads to the throwing of fluid into the pancreas.

Causes of the disease

This pathology can occur for various reasons. Consider the most basic.

If a person suffers from cholelithiasis, often with this disease begins to stagnate digestive juice due to clogging the ducts with stones. All this leads to an increase in pressure in these ways, contributing to the throwing of fluid into the pancreas.

With cholecystitis on the surface of the gallbladder, an inflammatory process occurs that prevents the juice from flowing normally.

Promotes the development of biliary pancreatitis and cholangitis, which is an uncharacteristic inflammation of the ducts, which arises from the violation of the patency of the biliary tract and infection of the secret.

The abovementioned diseases in combination with biliary pancreatitis cause the following changes in the pancreas:

• Inflammation and degeneration;
• Proliferation of connective tissue cells;
• Violations in its work.

But not only these causes contribute to the onset of the disease. Attacks often happen in the lovers of delicious food. Such food can serve as a kind of provocateur of spasms of the gallbladder and promotes edema of the pancreas. In addition, pancreatitis develops due to overeating, the use of stale or spoiled food.

How does the disease progress?

Biliary pancreatitis can have a chronic and acute form. The latter arises from the use of such food, which stimulates all the processes of digestion. It can be fried pies with meat, sodas, mouth-watering snacks, fried meat.

Such food was never considered healthy, as it promotes the movement of stones that can close the ducts in the gallbladder. Patients with chronic course of the disease, observing moderation in their diet, can prevent the occurrence of biliary pancreatitis.

The course of the biliary pathology depends on the action of stones in the bile duct. If they are small and pass well into the duodenum, the patient's condition improves rapidly. If the movement of stones along the duct is difficult, then in this case it is possible to fear for the life of the patient.

Symptoms of biliary pancreatitis

The signs of this disease, especially against the background of stagnation of bile, are quite diverse, so this pathology is difficult to diagnose.

Thus, if a patient has biliary pancreatitis, his symptoms may be as follows:

• The onset of aching pain along the entire upper abdomen, which can give in the back or in the area of the hypochondrium. Most often, the pain appears after eating fatty, fried or smoked food. Her enhancement occurs at night or two hours after eating.
• A strong bitter taste in the mouth.
• Nausea, vomiting.
• Diarrhea, constipation or flatulence.
• The body temperature may rise slightly.

Acute biliary pancreatitis is characterized by sharp pains in the hypochondrium, arising from spasms of smooth muscles that provoke the stone, and chronic - aching pain syndrome, lasting quite a long time.

In addition, with the chronic form of the disease, jaundice symptoms may occur , since the bile ducts are impassable and the digestive juice enters the circulatory system. At the same time, the whites of the eyes and skin integrate yellow. In this case, treatment should begin immediately, because everything can end very sadly.

Diagnosis of the disease

The patient must pass a clinical and biochemical blood test. In chronic biliary pancreatitis, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol levels are elevated, and the ratio of major proteins, on the contrary, decreases. In urine and blood in 3-6 times the level of amylase increases.

Necessarily conduct ultrasound of the pancreas and ultrasound of the hepatobiliary system, which allows to determine the presence of stones in the ducts, and also assesses the general condition of the pancreas.

To identify stones, such effective methods as intraprothal or endoscopic ultrasound are prescribed.

The most informative method is CT of bile ducts, especially if a contrast agent is injected. MRPHG and ERCP are also used to diagnose diseases of pancreatic and bile ducts.

Treatment of pathology

Treatment of biliary pancreatitis is carried out under the supervision of a gastroenterologist, endoscopist and surgeon. To prevent the disease from progressing further, and also in order to prevent exacerbations, the main disease is treated.

If chronic pathology has passed into acute biliary pancreatitis, treatment should be carried out only in a hospital. The acute form is treated in a complex manner, with the use of drug therapy and dietary nutrition.

Biliary pancreatitis in the acute stage proceeds with a strong pain syndrome, which is removed with the help of analgesics and antispasmodics. Correction of internal and external secretory function of the pancreas, detoxification, and prevention of infectious complications are carried out with the help of antibiotics.

When exacerbation in the first three days, therapeutic starvation and the use of non-carbonated alkaline mineral water are necessary. After the food is renewed, it is necessary to limit the fat in the diet, carbohydrates should also be under control.

To reduce the destructive effect of activated pancreatic enzymes, somatostatin, protease inhibitors, proton pump inhibitors are prescribed. The doctor can also prescribe microspherical enzymes that help restore the enzymatic dysfunction of the pancreas. To sugar in the blood came back to normal, prescribe hypoglycemic drugs.

Once an acute attack is removed, the attending physician can offer a surgical procedure to remove the stones. It is done in two ways: cut the upper wall of the abdomen (laparotomy) or make two small punctures in the abdominal wall (laparoscopy).

Possible complications

If biliary pancreatitis is treated correctly, then the patient will quickly return to the habitual way of life. With advanced disease, stones can move to the bile ducts. If the disease is neglected and nothing is done, it will lead to a worsening of the work of the gastrointestinal tract. Each time the pain will only increase, especially after taking harmful food.

In addition, a neglected disease can pass into parenchymal pancreatitis. It can threaten the patient with the following:

• Long-term treatment in hospital settings;
• Extensive surgical intervention;
• Duration of restorative therapy;
• The strictest diet practically all life.

To prevent the occurrence of biliary pancreatitis, you must observe a healthy lifestyle, eat right and completely give up alcohol.

Diet

If biliary pancreatitis has occurred , the diet must necessarily be rational. During the day, the patient should be fed 4-5 times, with the volume of one serving should not be more than 250 ml. Smoked, fried and fatty foods are strictly prohibited.

During the diet, the amount of proteins should be increased by 25%. Thus, for a day the patient should eat 120 g of protein products. But the amount of fat, on the contrary, must be reduced by 20%, and during the day their consumption should not exceed 80 g. The intake of carbohydrates should also be reduced, and it should be 350 g per day. The quantity of sugar is recommended to be cut in 2 times from the necessary norm.

Conclusion

Chronic biliary pancreatitis (especially acute form) is a very serious disease. It is important to correctly diagnose this pathology and start treatment in time, as the attacks will continue to increase, causing a lot of suffering. It is only a surgical operation that helps to get rid of biliary pancreatitis forever.