What is the difference between Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis?

Pancreatitis is a medical condition which does affect human beings; this condition can basically be defined as the inflammation of the human pancreas. The major cause of this medical condition in the human body has, however, been observed to have been the excessive consumption of alcohol products and even in some cases, its derivatives, which would eventually block the pancreatic ducts, which leads to the human small intestines. In the case of acute pancreatitis, it usually occurs suddenly, which causes acute pain, which could last for up to several hours to several days.

Acute pancreatitis would actually resolve on its own accord. While the case of chronic pancreatitis, on the other hand, could actually last for even more than six months, I could last as long as even up to many years; this is due to the constant scarring of the human pancreas and the inflammation of the pancreas.

Acute pancreatitis presents as a medical emergency. It is the autodigestion of the pancreas by activated enzymes. A lot of times, the cause is unknown; however, there are a few key factors that come into play as far as symptoms are concerned. Pancreatitis can develop from heavy drinking, hypercalcemia, radiation, hyperparathyroidism, hyperlipidemia, shock, hypothermia, and drugs. Most patients recover from the acute attack if they obtain the appropriate treatment. Chronic pancreatitis, on the other hand, is the permanent damage of the pancreas where the exocrine and endocrine functions and morphological abnormalities occur in the gland.

Some of the causes include chronic alcoholism, biliary tract calculi, dietary factors, and recurrent acute pain. Chronic pancreatitis is considered to be a slowly developing disease. Permanent diabetes mellitus rarely ever proceeds a single attack of acute pancreatitis, but chronic pancreatitis often results in diabetes mellitus.