Acute Pancreatitis in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

Twenty-two patients (13 men and 9 women; median age, 34 years; range, 15–64 years) with ulcerative colitis (UC) were evaluated to determine the incidence of acute pancreatitis with UC at the First Department of Internal Medicine, Mie University School of Medicine, during 1989–2001. Among these, three patients (14%) were diagnosed as having had episodes of acute pancreatitis during the mean follow-up period of 6 years. One patient presented with acute pancreatitis and UC simultaneously. Two patients had drug-induced pancreatitis (one due to azathioprine and the other due to 5-ASA). In conclusion, acute pancreatitis is not a frequent, but an occasional extraintestinal manifestation of UC.