Drinking too much alcohol, the man got pancreatitis, milky white blood

On May 15, Master - Doctor Le Thi Minh Thi, Emergency Department of Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that after receiving him, the doctor ordered a blood pressure check, vital signs, blood test, and general abdominal ultrasound. The blood sample taken from Mr. M's body was milky white and was immediately sent to the testing center for examination.

Blood fat increased 13 times

Arterial blood gas results showed that arterial pH decreased to 7.2 (normal 7.35 - 7.45), HCO3 decreased to 13.1mmol/l (normal 22 - 26mmol/l). Triglyceride (intermediate fat) increased to 23 mmol/l, 13 times higher than normal.

Doctor Thi determined that the patient's plasma was milky white due to high blood lipids. The patient had metabolic acidosis, severe acute pancreatitis, and was at high risk of death and needed emergency blood filtration and plasma exchange.

Immediately, the nursing team and doctors transferred the patient to the Intensive Care Unit. The doctor quickly placed a femoral vein catheter, replaced plasma, and continuously filtered the blood using a modern ultrafiltration system.

Uống nhiều rượu bia, người đàn ông bị viêm tuỵ, huyết tương trắng đục như sữa - Ảnh 1. — Mr. M. received blood filtration and plasma exchange at the hospital.

The plasma separator removed a large amount of triglyceride from the patient's body and replaced it with new plasma, so after only 3 hours, Mr. M. initially escaped "death". The patient continued to have his blood filtered continuously with an Oxiris filter that has the function of absorbing and removing toxins and inflammatory mediators, and was actively resuscitated with intravenous fluids, antibiotics and electrolyte balance.

Every day, the ICU team of doctors continuously closely monitors urine output, vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, SpO2, etc.), blood urea concentration, blood triglycerides, electrolytes, etc. to assess the patient's health in order to adjust medications and parameters on the dialysis machine accordingly.

After 10 days of treatment, blood triglyceride levels decreased, metabolic acidosis disappeared, inflammation indicators improved significantly, bloating was reduced, and the patient could drink milk and eat porridge without abdominal pain. The patient was transferred to the Endoscopy and Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Center for continued health monitoring. When his health was stable and he could eat and drink normally, Mr. M. was discharged from the hospital.

The habit of drinking a lot of alcohol is harmful to the pancreas.

Taking a medical history, his family said that Mr. M. had a habit of drinking half a liter of wine or 6 cans of beer every afternoon after work. When he was with friends and neighbors, he drank more. 2 months ago, he also had mild acute pancreatitis, was hospitalized at a local hospital, took medicine for 5 days and was discharged. When he returned home, he continued to drink alcohol.

Uống nhiều rượu bia, người đàn ông bị viêm tụy, máu trắng đục như sữa - Ảnh 2. — Acute pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas becomes suddenly inflamed and swollen.

Doctor Vuong My Dung, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, explained that the pancreas is located behind the stomach, on the left side of the abdomen, close to the first part of the small intestine. Its function is to produce enzymes that provide the small intestine with the ability to digest and break down food and secrete the hormones insulin and glucagon to control blood sugar levels.

Acute pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas becomes suddenly inflamed and swollen. If not treated promptly, it can easily lead to death due to multiple organ failure, pancreatic necrosis, and infection. The disease has a mortality rate of about 5-15% depending on the cause, severity, age, and associated diseases, and can even increase to 20%. After each holiday, the rate of people hospitalized for acute pancreatitis increases.

According to Dr. Dung, the common causes of acute pancreatitis are gallstones, drinking a lot of alcohol, and high blood fat. High blood alcohol levels cause the pancreas to work continuously to increase enzyme production, while also increasing the permeability of the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic enzymes come into contact with more pancreatic parenchyma, leading to the self-destruction of pancreatic cells, triggering the process of acute pancreatitis. In cases where the patient has high blood triglycerides (usually exceeding 1000 mg/dL), chyle granules (molecules with lipid components) will appear frequently in the capillaries, causing blockage of the capillaries in the pancreas, leading to pancreatitis, anemia causing pancreatic necrosis and infection.

If acute pancreatitis is not treated completely, it will progress to chronic pancreatitis and dangerous complications such as: Pancreatic pseudocyst (a bulge containing a quantity of pancreatic fluid leaking out of the pancreas), pancreatic cancer, diabetes, etc.

To prevent acute pancreatitis, Dr. Vuong My Dung advises people to limit alcohol consumption, smoking, and high-fat diets. People with diabetes, high cholesterol, gallstones, etc. should have regular health check-ups to manage underlying diseases well and avoid complications of acute pancreatitis.

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