Fatal acute pancreatitis. Characteristics of patients never reaching hospital

Abstract

Background: Mortality in acute pancreatitis is still substantial. The extent of patients dying at home due to acute pancreatitis, thus never admitted to hospital, is scarcely known.

Material and methods: Thirty-six patients with death caused by acute pancreatitis were identified at the Department of Forensic Medicine over a 7-year period.

Results: Twenty-seven patients (75%) were assumed to have alcohol as the underlying etiological factor. The duration of abdominal pain seemed short, with a median of one day. Profound pancreatitis changes were found in all patients while pulmonary changes were less frequent.

Conclusion: Overall, up to 1/3 of patients dying from acute pancreatitis in our region seem to die at home never being admitted to hospital. The majority of instances was caused by alcohol abuse. The progression of the cause of the disease seemed rapid, implying that these patients could constitute a specific subgroup of severe acute pancreatitis.