Clinical characteristics and outcomes of acute pancreatitis at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College: A five-year retrospective study.

Background: Acute pancreatitis is characterized by excessive upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or a systemic inflammatory response syndrome characterized by fever, low blood pressure, and, in some cases progression to organ failure. It is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal diseases requiring hospital admission. Because of the scarcity of data in Ethiopia, it is necessary to understand the clinical profile and outcome of acute pancreatitis for better management and intervention. Methods: this was an institutional-based cross-sectional study design in which all patients admitted with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included. The study involved a review of complete and documented records of these patients, using a structured format to collect data on various sociodemographic variables, clinical presentations, imaging findings, biochemical profile patterns, and outcomes. The data were cleaned and analyzed via SPSS version 26. Results: The mean age at presentation was 36.89 ± 10.4 years and females accounted for 51.1% of the sample. The most common etiology was gallstones (57.8%), followed by alcoholic pancreatitis (26.7%). Only 3 patients died, and the majority of patients were discharged alive. The severity of pancreatitis and the presence of complications are associated with the outcome of acute pancreatitis. Conclusion: Females are more affected by acute pancreatitis, in our study area, with the majority being affected by biliary stones and alcohol.