In the treatment of each disease, the most important is the timely diagnosis. This also applies to pancreatitis, the first symptoms of which are easily confused with other pancreatic diseases. To exclude another diagnosis, the gastroenterologist uses instrumental and laboratory methods of investigation, such as:
- A general blood test to detect signs of inflammation( increased ESR, increased number of leukocytes, etc.);
- Blood test for biochemistry - helps to detect excess of the rate of presence in the blood of enzymes such as trypsin, lipase and amylase;
- The next symptom of pancreatitis is an overestimate of sugar in laboratory blood tests;
- Another sign of pancreatic disease will be the content of amylase in the urine;
- Laboratory examination of the abdominal cavity by means of ultrasound will allow to determine the type and degree of disease not only of the gland, but also of the gallbladder and other important organs;
- Since pancreatitis involves the duodenum and stomach in the inflammatory process, EGDS is performed( gastroscopy);
- For the detection of intra-flow stones and calcification, a method of laboratory diagnostics such as radiography is used;
- It is not superfluous to carry out endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and cholecystocholangiography;
- Also a patient with suspicion of pancreatitis is sent to a computer tomography and asked to hand over feces for a coprogram;
- In addition to the above, the symptoms of pancreatitis try to be revealed by the results of the Lund test, the secretin-cholescystokinin test, the PABC test and other functional tests.
When, based on laboratory tests and symptoms of the patient, you can accurately say that the pancreas is affected, and the disease is determined, as well as its degree of development, they begin to treat pancreatitis.
Most often, when the results of laboratory studies showed a sharp form, the patient will be hospitalized for inpatient treatment in the surgical department. Appointed sparing for the pancreas diet, vitamins and drugs that block the increased production of pancreatic enzymes. In the case of complications, the doctor on the basis of a second study, together with the patient, may decide on further surgical treatment, which may include not only peritoneal lavage or removal of part of the gland, but also cholecystectomy.
Clinic, diagnosis and treatment of pancreatitis
The clinical picture of pancreatitis is a combination of 4 main syndromes:
- pain;
- dyspepsia;
- intrasecretory insufficiency;
- exocrine insufficiency.
At the initial stage the disease does not have any pronounced clinical symptoms. Then there is pain in the abdomen, which is often the only sign of the disease observed in the patient. In addition, years later, steatorrhea may appear and tolerance to carbohydrates will decrease.
It is quite difficult to diagnose pancreatitis on time. As a rule, instrumental research methods are used to identify the disease, the results of which are fixed by laboratory analyzes. The quality of the survey directly depends on the professionalism of the specialist and the equipment used.
Treatment for the diagnosis of "pancreatitis", most often, is carried out in the clinic. The patient is prescribed a carefully balanced set of narcotic analgesics and proteolytic enzymes. Of no less importance is the right diet. At occurrence of complications, the patient undergoes surgical intervention. If the tissue of the pancreas is severely damaged by the patient, a necroectomy is prescribed - a complicated operation that is performed extremely rarely. After the symptoms of inflammation of the pancreas the doctor can relax, as a control operation, remove the gallbladder.
Some cases of pancreatitis are perfectly suited to conservative treatment. If you follow the prescribed diet and take vitamins, inflammation can go away, but this method of getting rid of the disease is not always effective. In some cases, the doctor may prescribe an endoscopic treatment or a lateral pancreatic asthma.
In general, the treatment of pancreatitis largely depends on the successful diagnosis and timely treatment of the patient to the gastroenterologist. Modern methods of fighting this disease have proven themselves quite well, which is confirmed by the large number of recorded cases of complete recovery of patients. The only condition that must be met at the same time is a timely response to the appearance of the first symptoms of the disease and the patient's complete agreement on the passage of all procedures for integrated treatment.