The difference between acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis is the different causes, symptoms, examination methods, and prognosis.
1. Acute pancreatitis is caused by cholelithiasis, excessive alcohol consumption, hyperlipidemia, taking drugs, autoimmune diseases, pathogen infections and other factors, and the common triggers are overeating, drinking a lot of alcohol and so on.
Patients will have persistent epigastric pain, nausea and vomiting, abdominal distension, fever and other symptoms, and some patients will have low blood pressure, ascites, bruising of the skin around the umbilicus and other manifestations, as well as shock symptoms such as restlessness, pale lips and clammy cold skin.
Patients need to take abdominal CT, blood amylase, lipase and other tests to confirm the diagnosis. The prognosis of mild acute pancreatitis is generally better if timely measures are taken to treat the disease, while the prognosis of severe pancreatitis is worse if patients do not take timely measures to treat the disease.
2. Chronic pancreatitis is mainly caused by heredity, alcoholism, pancreaticobiliary diseases, autoimmune reactions, etc. Common triggers of the disease include hypercalcemia, long-term low-protein diets. Patients may experience abdominal pain in the upper middle or left abdomen, which may be intermittent or persistent.
In addition, patients will also experience pancreatic exocrine insufficiency such as loss of appetite, postprandial fullness, and weight loss. Patients with chronic pancreatitis need to take abdominal ultrasound, CT, abdominal MRI, pancreatic secretion function test and other tests to confirm the diagnosis. Most patients with chronic pancreatitis can improve their symptoms by taking timely measures to treat them, but they cannot be cured.
It is recommended that patients with pancreatitis seek medical attention in a timely manner. Doctors will determine whether the disease is acute pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis based on the cause of the disease, symptoms, and test results.