Open AccessCOVID-19 Associated Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis with Normal Serum Amylase and Lipase Levels: Report of an Unusual Finding
Author(s) -
Hemanth Sudarsanam,
Dillibabu Ethiraj,
Navaneetha Kumar Govarthanan,
S. Kalyanasundaram,
Sathya Arunachalam Chitra,
Saisurendar Mohan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
oman medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.395
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 2070-5204
pISSN - 1999-768X
DOI - 10.5001/omj.2021.129
Subject(s) - medicine , pancreatitis , acute pancreatitis , lipase , gastroenterology , abdominal pain , amylase , pancreatic injury , pancreas , enzyme , biology , biochemistry
Coronaviruses are a large family of single-stranded RNA viruses infecting humans and animals, causing a multitude of symptoms. COVID-19 is not only known to affect the respiratory system, but shows unusual gastrointestinal complications. Pancreatitis can be caused by biliary stones, alcohol abuse, viruses, drug intake, metabolic syndromes, or trauma. Diagnosis of acute pancreatitis requires any two of the three criteria: acute onset of severe upper abdominal pain, consistent with pancreatitis; elevation of serum amylase or lipase, three times the upper limit of normal; and/or characteristic imaging findings. COVID-19 associated pancreatitis is thought to be mediated by the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptor on the host cells, which are highly expressed in the pancreatic cells. Here, we report a unique case of acute necrotizing pancreatitis caused by COVID-19 with hyperglycemia and normal amylase and lipase levels.