Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2015 Aug 8;7(8):e297.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.297. eCollection 2015 Aug.

Valproic Acid-Induced Severe Acute Pancreatitis with Pseudocyst Formation: Report of a Case

Sukanta Ray  1 , Sujan Khamrui  1 , Mohnish Kataria  1 , Jayanta Biswas  1 , Suman Saha  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Valproic Acid-Induced Severe Acute Pancreatitis with Pseudocyst Formation: Report of a Case

Sukanta Ray et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Valproic acid is the most widely used anti-epilep-tic drug in children, and it is probably the most frequent cause of drug-induced acute pancreatitis. Outcomes for patients with valproic acid-associated pancreatitis vary from full recovery after discontinuation of the drug to severe acute pancreatitis and death. Here, we present a case of valproic acid-induced severe acute pancreatitis with pseudocyst formation in a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy and generalized tonic-clonic seizure. There was no resolution of the pseudocyst after discontinuation of valproic acid. The patient became symptomatic with a progressive increase in the size of the pseudocyst. She was successfully treated with cystogastrostomy and was well at 12-month follow-up.

Keywords: cystogastrostomy; pancreatitis; pseudocyst; valproic acid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. CT scan of the abdomen showing a large pseudocyst in the body and tail of the pancreas
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pancreatitis associated with valproic acid: a review of the literature. Chapman SA, Wacksman GP, Patterson BD. Pharmacotherapy. 2001;21:1549–1560. - PubMed
    1. Idiosyncratic adverse reactions to antiepi­leptic drugs. Zaccara G, Franciotta D, Perucca E. Epilepsia. 2007;48:1223–1244. - PubMed
    1. Valproic acid-induced pancreatitis: 16 new cases and a review of the literature. Gerstner T, Büsing D, Bell N, Longin E, Kasper JM, Klostermann W, Hebing B, Hanefeld F, Eckel U, Hoffmann R, Bettendorf U, Weidner B, Wiemer-Kruel A, Brockmann K, Neumann FW, Sandrieser T, Wolff M, König S. J Gastroenterol. 2007;42:39–48. - PubMed
    1. Pancreatitis associated with valproic acid therapy. Batalden PB, Van Dyne BJ, Cloyd J. Pediatrics. 1979;64:520–522. - PubMed
    1. Pancreatitis due to valproic acid. Camfield PR, Bagnell P, Camfield CS, Tibbles JA. Lancet. 1979;1:1198–1199. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources