Most cases of acute pancreatitis are diagnosed at hospital on an emergency admission basis.
The doctor in charge of your care will ask you about the history of your symptoms. They may also carry out a physical examination. If you have acute pancreatitis, certain areas of your abdomen will be very tender to touch.
Blood tests
The next stage in the diagnosis is to carry out a blood test. During acute pancreatitis, your pancreas will begin to produce higher than usual levels of two chemicals called amylase and lipase. The blood test results will show whether the levels of these chemicals are raised.
Further testing
Further testing may be carried out in hospital to observe the extent of the inflammation of your pancreas and to assess your risk of developing more serious complications.
Tests that you may have include:
- a computerised tomography (CT) scan - where a series of X-rays are taken to build up a more detailed, three-dimensional image of your pancreas
- an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
An ERCP uses a narrow, flexible tube, known as an endoscope, which has a camera on one end. The endoscope will be guided into your digestive system using an ultrasound scanner.
An ERCP can be useful in cases of gallbladder-associated acute pancreatitis because it can pinpoint exactly where the gallstone that is causing the problem is located. In some cases, it may be possible to pass surgical instruments down the endoscope so that the gallstone can be removed.
Mild or severe
In the early stages of acute pancreatitis, determining whether a person has the mild or severe form of the condition can be difficult based on the symptoms alone. Therefore, several tests are often required to help determine which form a person has. These tests include a range of blood tests and sometimes X-rays and a CT scan.
Your heart and breathing rates may also been measured. A heartbeat of 90 beats or more a minute or a breathing rate of 20 breaths a minute may suggest a diagnosis of severe acute pancreatitis.
These tests usually take about 24 hours to complete. After this time, the doctor who is in charge of your or your relative’s care should be able to tell you whether the acute pancreatitis is mild or severe.
