Acute mesenteric ischemia in chronic pancreatitis secondary to pancreas divisum. A case report

Background:

Acute mesenteric ischemia represents a group of diseases which are characterized by an interruption of blood supply causing intestinal ischemia. If untreated, this process can progress to cause intestinal necrosis with significant morbidity and mortality for the patient. Although it represents an entity almost exclusive to older adults, there are case reports of young patients with risk factors for this entity that can lead to them developing this disease even at their young age. Among these risk factors are mainly coagulopathy, abdominal inflammatory processes, or cardiovascular factors such as arrhythmias or heart failure. Therefore, we present the case of a young patient with a history of chronic pancreatitis secondary to pancreas divisum who was admitted to the gastroenterology service of our hospital, initially suspecting that the pain was secondary to her pancreatic disorder, however it turned out to be a mesenteric ischemia with intestinal necrosis that required extensive intestinal resection.

Keywords:  Acute mesenteric ischemia, chronic pancreatitis, pancreas divisum.