Eur J Case Rep Intern Med


. 2020 May 13;7(6):001710.
doi: 10.12890/2020_001710. eCollection 2020.
Acalculous Acute Pancreatitis in a COVID-19 Patient


Pedro Antunes Meireles 1 2 , Filipe Bessa 1 , Pedro Gaspar 1 3 , In?s Parreira 1 , Virg?lio Dias Silva 1 4 , Catarina Mota 1 3 , Lourdes Alvoeiro 1



Affiliations

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a multisystemic condition caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with manifestations ranging from mild upper respiratory symptoms to cytokine storm causing acute respiratory distress syndrome. Pancreatic exocrine tissue and endocrine islets both express angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the proven receptor for SARS-CoV-2 cell internalization. An increase in pancreatic enzymes has been increasingly recognized in patients with COVID-19, but little is known about the real prevalence of acute pancreatitis in this population. We report a case of acute acalculous pancreatitis in a COVID-19 patient.
Learning points: Acute pancreatitis may be a manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection.Future studies must address the real impact of pancreatic involvement in COVID-19 patients.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; acute pancreatitis; amylase; lipase.