A study from the University of Eastern Finland shows that idiopathic pancreatitis is often caused by small gallstones that are difficult to observe prior to surgery.
Small gallstones were found in surgery from two out of three idiopathic pancreatitis patients. The study also showed that acute pancreatitis was more common in statin users than non-users.
The study analysed the association of pancreatitis with the use of cholesterollowering drugs, statins, as gallstones often contain crystallised cholesterol. Animal studies have shown statins to dissolve gallstones. The majority of gallstones are found in the elderly, often asymptomatic. Researchers assumed that statins may also reduce the size of gallstones in humans, enabling gallstones to travel from the gallbladder to the junction of the common bile duct and the pancreatic duct, and then manifest as pancreatitis.
“Despite these findings, no one should discontinue their statin medication without consulting their physician,” said Jukka Pulkkinen, MD, who presented the results in his doctoral thesis. The findings were originally published in Pancreas, BMC Gastroenterology, PharmacoepidemiologyandDrug Safety, andAnnals of Surgery
