Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of acute pancreatitis in adults treated at the Itauguá National Hospital, from January 2025 to April 2026

Abstract

Introduction: Acute pancreatitis is one of the leading causes of hospitalization for digestive diseases, and its clinical presentation and course vary depending on the etiology and severity. Objective: To determine the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of acute pancreatitis in adults treated at the Itauguá National Hospital between January 2025 and April 2026. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, retrospective, descriptive observational study was conducted through a review of medical records. A total of 258 adult patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis were included using census sampling. Data were obtained from medical records, and sociodemographic variables, etiology, clinical manifestations, complications, length of hospital stay, and mortality were analyzed using descriptive statistics with Jamovi 2.6. Results: Female patients predominated (60.1 %), as did the 40–60 age group (45.7 %), with a median age of 45 years. Biliary etiology was the most common (85.3 %), followed by metabolic etiology (8.5 %). Abdominal pain (98.8 %), nausea (84.9 %), and vomiting (73.3 %) were the most common clinical manifestations. 69.8 % of patients had no local complications; peripancreatic fluid collection (19.0 %) and pancreatic necrosis (7.8 %) were the most common local complications. The median length of hospital stay was 12 days, and the mortality rate was 6.6 %. Conclusion: Acute pancreatitis primarily affected middle-aged women, and biliary disease was the main cause. Most patients had a favorable outcome, with a low incidence of serious complications and mortality. These findings provide local epidemiological evidence.

Keywords: Acute pancreatitis, abdominal pain, cholelithiasis, epidemiology, hospitalization.