Medical Image of the Week: Hypertriglyceridemia-induced Pancreatitis

Figure 1. Panel A. Abdominal CT scan showing pancreatitis with edema and indistinct pancreatic borders (arrows). Panel B. Patient’s milky serum sample from elevated triglycerides. 

A 38 year old man presented with diffuse abdominal pain and was found to have pancreatitis on abdominal CT image (Figure 1, Panel A). His triglyceride level was 4573 mg/dL and his serum red top tube was visibly lipemic (Figure 1, Panel B).  He underwent one cycle of plasmapheresis and his triglyceride level decreased to below 500mg/dL.

Nathaniel Reyes, MD and Gordon Carr, MD

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Arizona Respiratory Center

University of Arizona

Tucson, AZ

Reference as: Reyes N, Carr G. Medical image of the week: hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care 2013;6(1):22. PDF