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Acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis
What is acute pancreatitis?
Pancreas: What is it? The pancreas is a gland located behind the stomach that performs two essential functions: digesting nutrients, through the secretion of digestive enzymes, and regulating blood sugar levels, through the secretion of insulin.
Acute pancreatitis is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas, mainly associated with excessive alcohol consumption or the presence of gallstones. In the vast majority of cases, the inflammation resolves within a few days without leaving any lasting effects. In the most severe cases, it can lead to failure of certain organs (kidneys, lungs, etc.), requiring admission to the intensive care unit. Subsequently, pancreatic fluid collections may form: these are pockets of fluid that may become infected and then require antibiotic treatment, supplemented, if necessary, by drainage of the infected fluid.
Symptoms
- Severe abdominal pain
- Fever
- Other digestive symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea
How is acute pancreatitis diagnosed?
The diagnosis is often made using a blood test and an abdominal CT scan. An abdominal ultrasound may also be performed to identify the presence of gallstones (stones in the gallbladder).
Treatment and care management
- Initially, treatment aims to relieve symptoms and prevent the pancreatitis from worsening, notably through intravenous hydration and pain management.
- In the context of severe acute pancreatitis, interventional endoscopy techniques—that is, without surgery—can be used to drain the infected fluid directly through the stomach or duodenum (the first part of the small intestine).
- In the most complex cases, a multidisciplinary approach combining several specialities may be necessary:
- Interventional radiology, which can drain infected collections through the skin using catheters.
- Surgery, as a last resort when other approaches are insufficient.
Our specialists
Prof. Marianna Arvanitakis
Director of the Pancreatology and Nutritional Support Clinic
Gastroenterologist, specialising in pancreatic diseases, interventional endoscopy and clinical nutrition.
Professor Marianna Arvanitakis specialised in pancreatology and interventional endoscopy as part of Professor Jacques Devière’s team at Erasme Hospital. After obtaining a University Diploma in Clinical Nutrition in 2005, she took over the medical coordination of the nutritional support service in 2018. Research conducted within the clinic focuses in particular on optimising the management of patients with severe acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis, as well as on the management of patients suffering from short bowel syndrome. A member of several scientific societies, she is Secretary General of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) for the 2025–2027 term, and a gastroenterology clinical supervisor for the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
Languages spoken: French, English, Greek.
Professor Alia Hadefi
Professor Hadefi is a gastroenterologist with expertise in clinical nutrition and metabolic liver diseases. She defended her doctoral thesis on the interaction between the intestine and liver diseases in 2024, and completed additional training in 2025 within the Department of Gastroenterology, Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) and Nutritional Support at Beaujon Hospital (Paris).
Languages spoken: French, English, Arabic.
Dr Michael Fernandez Y Viesca
Dr Fernandez is a gastroenterologist with expertise in pancreatology, acquired after obtaining a university diploma in Pancreatology in 2017 (Sorbonne). He is the coordinating physician for Benign Pancreatic Diseases within the multidisciplinary pancreatology consultation and is currently preparing a doctoral thesis on severe acute pancreatitis.
Languages spoken: French, English, Spanish.
Contact
To make an appointment for a consultation, please email ConsGastroMed [dot] erasme [at] hubruxelles [dot] be or call +32 (0)2 555.35.04. Alternatively, contact the H.U.B. Gastroenterology Department directly at SecMed [dot] GastroMed [dot] erasme [at] hubruxelles [dot] be.