Unusual and unexpected systemic manifestations and complications may be produced by acute pancreatitis. In a review of 100 patients with pancreatitis, 38% had at least one complication. The diverse effects of this disorder may affect the pancreas and contiguous organs, or remote organs, subsequent to circulatory enzymes being released from the gland.
Peripancreatic complications, namely, obstructive jaundice and pseudocyst, are well known. Less apparent are the infrequent peripancreatic inflammatory reactions causing massive ascites, splenic rupture, and colonic lesions. Involvement of the colon may simulate ulcerative colitis, obstruction, or neoplasm.
In addition to the occurrence of diabetes and exocrine deficiency observed