Emergency Nursing Care of a Pregnant Patient With Acute Abdomen Owing to Acute Pancreatitis: A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION

Acute pancreatitis in pregnancy is a rare but potentially life-threatening cause of acute abdomen for both the pregnant patient and the unborn child. Prompt recognition and multidisciplinary coordination in the emergency department are essential.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 26-year-old gravida 3, para 0 patient at 39 + 1 weeks' gestation presented to the emergency department with severe upper abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Laboratory testing showed markedly elevated serum amylase and lipase, and ultrasonography identified gallstones consistent with gallstone pancreatitis.

INTERVENTIONS: Emergency nursing care prioritized rapid triage, maternal assessment and fetal surveillance, intravenous access and fluid resuscitation, symptom-guided analgesia and antiemetics, oxygen supplementation, and early consultation/transfer using a structured situation-background-assessment-recommendation handoff.

OUTCOMES: After multidisciplinary evaluation, an emergency cesarean section was performed. The neonate required neonatal intensive care unit observation, and the patient received intensive care unit care for pancreatitis. Both were discharged in stable condition 12 days after presentation.

CONCLUSION

This case highlights the emergency nurse's role in recognizing acute pancreatitis in pregnancy, initiating stabilization, coordinating timely transfer, and supporting patient-family communication in high-risk obstetrical emergencies.