Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about pancreatitis. And you can find written notes on this topic, as always,

at zero to finals.com slash pancreatitis or in the general surgery section of the zero to finals surgery book.

So let's get straight into it.

Pancreatitis refers to inflammation of the pancreas and it can be categorized as acute pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis.

This section mainly relates to acute pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis. This section mainly relates to acute pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis presents with a rapid onset of inflammation and symptoms.

After an episode of acute pancreatitis, normal function usually returns to the pancreas.

Chronic pancreatitis involves longer-term inflammation and symptoms with a progressive and

permanent deterioration in pancreatic function.

So what are the causes of pancreatitis?

The three key causes of pancreatitis to remember are gallstones, alcohol and ERCP procedures.

Gullstone's pancreatitis is caused by gallstones getting trapped at the end of the billory system, at the ampler of veta, and blocking the flow of bile and pancreatic juice into the duodenum.

The reflux of bile into the pancreatic duct and the prevention of pancreatic juice

containing enzymes from being secreted results in inflammation in the pancreas.

Goulstone's pancreatitis is more common in women and older patients.

Alcohol is directly toxic to pancreatic cells and this can result in inflammation and pancreatitis.

Alcohol-induced pancreatitis is more common in men and younger patients.

There's a popular mnemonic that goes,

I get smashed for remembering a long list of causes of pancreatitis.

I refers to idiopathic, G refers to gallstones,

E refers to ethanol or alcohol consumption,

...