Articles: Hyperparathyroidism and Pancreatitis

The association of primary hyperparathyroidism and pancreatitis.
Prinz RA, Aranha GV.
The long-held tenet that a cause and effect relation exists between primary hyperparathyroidism and pancreatitis has recently been questioned. To clarify this association, records of 1475 patients seen with pancreatitis during a 10-year period were reviewed. Five patients (0.4%) were identified with primary hyperparathyroidism. The four men and one woman ranged in age from 31 to 57 years. Four had recurrent pancreatitis over a 2-10 yr period before hyperparathyroidism was diagnosed. One patient had hypercalcemia noted 1 year prior to developing pancreatitis. Four patients had associated potential causes of pancreatitis including alcohol abuse, gallstones, and hypotension. Pancreatitis was severe in each patient. Two patients had more than four admissions for acute pancreatitis, one patient underwent pseudocyst drainage and distal pancreatectomy for chronic pancreatitis, one patient underwent pancreaticojejunostomy for chronic pancreatitis, and one patient died from hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Four patients have undergone successful parathyroidectomy and have had no further attacks of pancreatitis on follow-up ranging from 1 to 4 years. Hyperparathyroidism is rarely associated with pancreatitis, but when this combination occurs, the pancreatitis is likely to be severe. Despite its rarity, a cause and effect relationship is still suggested by the fact that parathyroidectomy seems to prevent recurrence of pancreatitis.
PMID: 3994175 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Hyperparathyroidism presenting as pancreatitis or complicated by postoperative pancreatitis.
Shepherd JJ.
Department of Surgery, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia.
BACKGROUND: The association of hyperparathyroidism with acute pancreatitis either pre-operatively or postoperatively has been questioned in recent overseas literature. METHODS: A review of medical records and histology reports in the Royal Hobart Hospital from 1971 to 1993 was carried out to identify all cases of acute pancreatitis associated with primary hyperparathyroidism. RESULTS: Seven cases are presented, six with histological confirmation, of hyperparathyroidism associated with pancreatitis in a period when 137 confirmed cases of primary hyperparathyroidism were treated. None of these patients had gallstones. In two, alcohol abuse may have been the aetiological factor. Five patients had successful neck exploration and none of them have experienced any further attacks including a 25 year old who had four hospitalizations and one laparotomy for pancreatitis in the year before parathyroidectomy 12 years ago. Two patients died from acute pancreatitis, one without exploration and the other with a mediastinal parathyroid adenoma that was not located at surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Most parathyroid surgeons would proceed to mediastinotomy, if necessary, at initial exploration in a patient with previous hypercalcaemic crisis. This should also be considered in patients with a history of acute pancreatitis.
PMID: 8602820 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Hyperparathyroidism and chronic pancreatitis.
Smith MD, Pawlak M, Pantanowitz DP, Botha RJ.
Department of Surgery, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Hyperparathyroidism is a rare cause of pancreatitis. The nature of the relationship between the two entities is not well defined, i.e. is it casual or causal? We describe 2 patients with chronic pancreatitis and hyperparathyroidism who presented with epigastric pain and were initially treated unsuccessfully by surgical drainage of the pancreatic ducts. In 1 case the hyperparathyroidism was only recognised after the pancreatic surgery. In both the symptoms of chronic pancreatitis responded well to parathyroidectomy. We believe that our cases add support to a causal relationship between pancreatitis and hyperparathyroidism. Whatever the true relationship, management of these patients should initially be directed at the hyperparathyroidism, followed by appropriate treatment of the pancreatitis.
PMID: 10222803 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[Acute pancreatitis associated with primary hyperparathyroidism]
[Article in Spanish]
Octavio de Toledo JM, Martín Eleno M, Mató JA, Alvarez C, Gómez Lorenzo F.
Servicio Galego de Saude, Xunta de Galicia, Hospital Nuestra Señora del Cristal, Orense.
A case of acute pancreatitis associated with primary hyperparathyroidism is reported. There was none of usual causes of pancreatitis, which did not recur following the removal of a parathyroid adenoma. There are over one hundred of cases of acute or chronic pancreatitis associated with hyperparathyroidism in the literature, suggesting a causal relationship between the two entities. The pancreatic disease has been attributed either to the hypercalcemia or to the excess of circulating parathyroid hormone. However, some authors have recently questioned any link between these two diseases.
PMID: 1751069 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Acute relapsing pancreatitis in primary hyperparathyroidism with hypercalcemia aggravated after aspiration cytology: report of a case.
Chen CS, Tseng FY.
Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Provincial Hospital, Taiwan R.O.C.
In 1957, Cope and his associates first noted 2 cases of pancreatitis associated with primary hyperparathyroidism. They emphasized the association of hyperparathyroidism and pancreatitis. Since then pancreatitis has become a diagnostic clue to primary hyperparathyroidism. We report herein a 39-year-old woman who had suffered from acute relapsing pancreatitis 3 times in the past 2 years. Hypercalcemia persisted throughout the course. A movable mass 3 x 3 cm in diameter was noted over the right thyroid area on physical examination. A hypoechogenic mass 3.5 x 2.7 x 1.4 cm was found between the right lobe of the thyroid and the carotid artery. Because of a persistently high serum level of Ca2+, normal saline and furosemide were infused; the serum Ca2+ decreased gradually. After aspiration of the suspected mass, the serum level of Ca2+ increased from 8.7 mg/dL to 18 mg/dL. Because of the impression of parathyroid adenoma, surgery was performed and a 3 x 2.5 x 1.5 cm well-encapsulated mass was excised without difficulty. Pathologic examination revealed a well-encapsulated parathyroid adenoma. This case reveals that primary hyperparathyroidism maybe one of the causes of pancreatitis, and aspiration cytology, although it may be helpful for the diagnosis, can aggravate the hypercalcemia.
PMID: 1686889 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]