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Among patients who experience a first episode of acute pancreatitis, many want to know their probability of having another attack. To clarify risk factors for both recurrent pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis in these patients, researchers in Iceland retrospectively examined over 1100 patients with first-time acute pancreatitis. Mean follow-up was 25 months. Results were as follows:
Almost two thirds of all patients developed their initial episode of pancreatitis because of gallstones (41%) or alcohol use (21%).
Twenty-one percent of patients developed at least one additional episode of acute pancreatitis.
Risk factors for recurrent acute pancreatitis included alcoholic etiology of acute pancreatitis, tobacco use, and male gender.
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