DDSEP® 8 Quick Quiz

DDSEP® 8 Quick Quiz - April 2018 Question 2

Publish date: April 1, 2018

A 50-year-old woman with no past medical history presents to the emergency department with the acute onset of severe epigastric pain and vomiting. She is afebrile with a blood pressure of 100/50 mm Hg, and pulse of 110 bpm. Physical exam shows right upper quadrant and epigastric tenderness to palpation without rebound. Labs demonstrate a white blood cell count of 17,000/mm3, hemoglobin of 16 g/dL, creatinine of 1.4 mg/dL, alanine aminotransferase of 215 U/L, aspartate aminotransferase of 190 U/L, a total bilirubin of 2.1 mg/dL, and triglycerides of 492 mg/dL. Right upper quadrant ultrasound reveals gallstones and a 1.2-cm common bile duct. The following day, despite being hydrated aggressively, the patient develops a fever and becomes jaundiced with worsening abdominal pain.
What would be the next step in the patient's management?

DDSEP® 8 Quick Quiz - April 2018 Question 2

A. Abdominal CT to evaluate for pancreatic necrosis

B. Administration of heparin and insulin to decrease triglycerides

C. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

D. A hepatobiliary (HIDA) scan

E. Initiation of antibiotics and cholecystectomy when stable

Q2. Correct Answer: C

Rationale
The patient presents with acute gallstone pancreatitis. In patients with gallstone pancreatitis and evidence of cholangitis, ERCP with sphincterotomy and stone extraction should be performed. The patients fever, jaundice, and right upper quadrant pain are sufficient to make the diagnosis of cholangitis. It is too early in the course of the disease to evaluate for pancreatic necrosis. Typically, triglyceride levels above 1,000 mg/dL are required to induce pancreatitis. Finally, while the patient has cholelithiasis, there is no evidence of cholecystitis. Therefore, a HIDA scan is not warranted.

Reference
1. Behrns KE, Ashley SW, Hunter JG, Carr-Locke D. Early ERCP for gallstone pancreatitis: for whom and when? J Gastrointestinal Surgery. 2008;12(4):629-33.

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