A Descriptive Study of the Demographic and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Individuals With Gallstone-Induced Pancreatitis in a Tertiary-Level Hospital in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

BACKGROUND

Gallstones are a major cause of acute pancreatitis, which is associated with high recurrence, morbidity, and mortality. Careful consideration of demographic and clinicopathological features is required to understand the association between the cause and severity of pancreatitis in various populations, and such crucial information is lacking for Jharkhand's population. Here, we sought to describe the demographic and clinicopathological features of gallstone-induced acute pancreatitis at a tertiary hospital in Ranchi.

METHODS

This hospital-based descriptive study was conducted at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi. The hospital records of patients admitted to the surgical unit with acute gallstone-induced pancreatitis from January 2023 to December 2023 were analyzed. The study adhered to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.

RESULTS

Of the 72 patients admitted with acute gallstone-induced pancreatitis (mean age: 42.5 years), 46 (64%) were males and 26 (36%) were females. All 72 patients had abdominal pain and 44 (61%) were vomiting. The severe vs. non-severe pancreatitis groups differed significantly in age (≥40) and male gender (p = 0.013 and 0.031, respectively). A total of 45 (62.5%) patients had severe gallstone-induced pancreatitis, and the most common complication was acute kidney injury, followed by pleural effusion (18 (25%) and 13 (18.1%) cases, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study revealed that gallstone-induced pancreatitis was more common in males and that age and gender were significantly associated with severity. However, late presentation to the hospital may have influenced our study, resulting in more severe cases being reported, with the most common complication being acute kidney injury. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the demographic, clinicopathological, and outcome data of acute gallstone-induced pancreatitis in Ranchi. These results can guide hospital policy development to improve patient outcomes.