COVID-19 and the risk of acute pancreatitis: Here’s what an expert advises
"Upper abdominal pain among COVID-19 patients should be always evaluated from pancreatitis point of view," says Dr Swapnil Sharma, of Fortis Hospital, Mulund
'Incidence of pancreas involvement in COVID-19 patients with pneumonia is around 17 per cent, but the degree of pancreatic involvement varies from patient to patient.' (Source: Getty/Thinkstock) The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can cause other health complications, too. While it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, across the globe, countries are still scrambling for answers as to how it can be contained and eventually eradicated. As it is known, the viral infection mainly attacks the upper respiratory tract system. But, apart from that, it is also known to impact the digestive system, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
It has come to the fore, that the virus can also attack the pancreas. “Incidence of pancreas involvement in COVID-19 patients with pneumonia is around 17 per cent, but the degree of pancreatic involvement varies from patient to patient. Some patients can have an isolated rise in the pancreatic enzymes in their blood test without any clinical symptoms. There may be raised pancreatic enzymes on blood tests and signs of pancreatitis on imaging, but there will not be any clinical disease. Very rarely, there may be an overt episode of acute pancreatitis; usually, the pancreatic involvement chances are less when COVID-19 disease is mild,” explains Dr Swapnil Sharma, consultant, liver transplant & HPB surgery at the Fortis Hospital in Mulund.
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