How to check for pancreatitis?
Pancreatitis can cause acute abdominal pain, along with symptoms of nausea and vomiting, and severe cases can lead to hypotensive shock. In laboratory tests, the diagnosis is generally made by assessing serum or urine amylase levels. An amylase level that exceeds three times the normal value can diagnose pancreatitis. Additionally, ultrasound and CT scans can reveal an enlarged or exuding pancreas, and the presence of a small amount of fat necrosis around the pancreas can be diagnosed as pancreatitis. The onset time of serum amylase in pancreatitis varies; typically, serum amylase begins to increase between 6 and 12 hours and starts to decline after 48 hours, and can be detected within 3 to 5 days. Lipase levels typically start to rise between 24 to 72 hours and remain elevated longer, up to 7 to 10 days. Thus, lipase has diagnostic value for later stages of pancreatitis and tends to have higher specificity compared to amylase.
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Symptoms of Pancreatitis


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