Acute Pancreatitis and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Chicken-Egg Paradox-A Seven-Year Experience of a Large Tertiary Center

Mihai Radu Pahomeanu; Damiana Ojog; Diana Teodora Nițu; Irina Ștefania Diaconu; Hosein Nayyerani; Lucian Negreanu

doi:10.3390/jcm13051213

Acute Pancreatitis and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Chicken-Egg Paradox-A Seven-Year Experience of a Large Tertiary Center

J Clin Med. 2024 Feb 21;13(5):1213. doi: 10.3390/jcm13051213.

Authors

Mihai Radu Pahomeanu^{1

2

3}, Damiana Ojog^{1

2}, Diana Teodora Nițu^{1

2}, Irina Ștefania Diaconu^{1

2}, Hosein Nayyerani^{1

2}, Lucian Negreanu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania.
² Bucharest Acute Pancreatitis Index (BUC-API) Study Group, 077135 Mogoșoaia, Romania.
³ Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Department, University Emergency Hospital of Bucharest, 050098 Bucharest, Romania.

Abstract

(1) Background: Preexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been shown in some studies as a risk factor and a severity factor for acute pancreatitis (AP). In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the link between T2DM and AP using data from a large retrospective epidemiological registry in a tertiary center. (2) Methods: We conducted a retrospective, large-cohort study of 1855 cases of AP and recurrent AP drawn from the seven-year consecutive hospitalization electronic health records of the largest acute-care tertiary teaching center in Romania. (3) Results: We observed a significant association between T2DM and a more severe course of the disease, and between T2DM and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to AP, in our cohort using a chi-square test. However, we did not see a meaningful difference in comparing LoS-ICU between T2DM-AP and OAP (other known cause of AP). AP patients with T2DM had a greater probability of a severe course of the disease and were more likely to be admitted to the ICU than to the OAP. (4) Conclusions: The association between T2DM and AP remains a topic very representative of the "chicken-egg paradox". We need further research on DM-related AP and their bidirectional association as our study is limited by its retrospective design.

Keywords: ICU; acute pancreatitis; severity; type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Publish not Perish program of our university, the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest (Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie Carol Davila București).