The first phase of development of pancreatitis is the stage of preclinical manifestations, at this moment the patient has no complaints, and the detection of pathology occurs relatively rarely, usually as a result of an accidental finding. At this stage of the development of the disease, the patient observes changes that can be detected only with the help of laboratory, or instrumental methods of diagnosis. In the blood, amylase is found, and in the urine of diastasis, according to ultrasound or CT scan of the abdominal cavity, specific changes in the gland tissue are observed.
The second phase of development of pancreatitis is the stage of initial clinical manifestations. This period of illness occurs 5-10 years after the manifestation of pathological changes in laboratory and instrumental studies. The main sign of this phase of pancreatitis will be pains of different severity that appear in the upper half of the abdomen or the left hypochondrium, sometimes pain can have a shrouding character, which type of pain will be and the patient depends much on his individual anatomical features determining the position of his pancreas in the abdominal cavity.
The third phase of the development of the disease is the stage of exocrine insufficiency of the pancreas. This stage of the disease occurs approximately after 10 years of existence of the previous phase of pancreatitis. The patient still feels pain in this state, as in the stage of primary clinical manifestations, the pain becomes less pronounced, and disturbances in the digestive system are added to the patient, the patient has stagnation of bile, casting the contents of the small intestine into the stomach, digestion of proteins and fats,violation of normal contractile activity of the intestine, because of digestive disorders, the patient begins to lose body weight. Moreover, all these disorders can be combined with violations of carbohydrate metabolism, during which the patient has episodes of elevated or low blood glucose levels.
The fourth phase of the development of the disease is the stage of remission, the pathological changes of the pancreas come into balance with the regenerative capabilities of the body, about two-thirds of patients with this disease, by maintaining diet, refusal from alcohol, timely treatment stabilize their condition in this phase of pancreatitis, andafter that they live a full life.
Separately, we should focus on the complications of pancreatitis, they can occur in any phase of the disease and their danger lies in the fact that they can lead to serious consequences for the health of the patient or even his death.