Association of Obesity With Complications of Acute Pancreatitis

Danyal Zahoor, Zahid Mehmood, Ghansham Rawtani, Abdul Qudoos, Farah Shah, Saba Qaisar

Abstract

Objective

To determine the association between obesity and complications of acute pancreatitis including mortality, pancreatic necrosis and organ failure.

Study design

Cohort study.

Place & Duration of study

This prospective study was done in the Department of General Surgery, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) Karachi, from February 2024 to June 2024.

Methods

The study included 184 patients with acute pancreatitis. Patients were divided into obese and non-obese categories based on their BMI. There were 92 obese individuals with body mass index (BMI) > 30 kg/m² and 92 individuals who were non-obese. Clinical, physiological, and biochemical data were collected and analyzed to assess any statistically significant association.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 54.33±11.22 years and 54.24±13.20 years for obese and non-obese groups. Majority (n=99-53.8%) of our patients had moderate category of pancreatitis. The in-hospital mortality rate among obese patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis was higher (n=14 - 15.2%) as compared to non-obese patients (n=3 - 3.3%). Moreover, in comparison to non-obese patients, pancreatic necrosis and organ failure were more frequently observed in obese patients (n=17 - 18.5%) and (n=44 - 47.8%) respectively. The relative risk of mortality and organ failure were significantly elevated among obese individuals than non obese patients (RR=1.763 and 1.601, respectively).

Conclusion

Obesity significantly correlates with worse outcomes in patients with acute pancreatitis, including higher mortality and organ failure rates. This highlights the importance of BMI as a significant predictor of complications

Key words

Pancreatitis, Respiratory distress syndrome, Multiple organ failure, Gallstones, Hospital mortality.