Retrospective Matched-Cohort Analysis of Acute Pancreatitis Induced by 5-Aminosalicylic Acid-Derived Drugs.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to compare the clinical course of 5-aminosalicylic acid-derived, drug-induced acute pancreatitis (5-ASA-DIAP) to acute pancreatitis (AP) caused by other etiologies.

METHODS

A cohort of patients with 5-ASA-DIAP was established through literature search. As a control AP (CAP) group, a cohort was generated from a registry. Data on the diagnostic procedure, symptoms, enzyme elevation, imaging, severity, and recovery parameters were collected. Causality was assessed using the Naranjo algorithm.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine articles were included, which describe 36 patients with fifty-one 5-ASA-DIAP episodes (60.78% female, 39.22% male). There were 88.2% mild, 3.92% moderate, and 7.84% severe cases of AP in the 5-ASA-DIAP group, and 70.6%, 25.5%, and 3.92% such cases in the CAP population, respectively. Symptoms improved significantly faster (mean ± SE, 2.5 ± 0.34 vs 3.74 ± 0.42 days; P = 0.018); however, pancreatic enzyme levels normalized significantly more slowly (6.27 ± 1.53 vs 3.63 ± 0.61 days, P = 0.008) in the 5-ASA-DIAP cohort compared with the CAP group. This study confirms that there are no diagnostic differences between 5-ASA-DIAP and AP of other etiologies.

CONCLUSIONS

Fewer moderate but more severe cases were found in the 5-ASA-DIAP group; therefore, 5-ASA-DIAP must be taken as seriously as AP of other etiologies.