Managing Hypertriglyceridaemia-Associated Acute Pancreatitis

Hypertriglyceridaemia is a component of metabolic syndrome that is often associated with the development of atherosclerosis, fatty liver disease, and acute pancreatitis, resulting in a major health concern and economic burden. Acute pancreatitis is one of the most common digestive disorders with an increasing global incidence. With the high prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, all known factors that contribute to hypertriglyceridaemia, the incidence of hypertriglyceridaemia-associated acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP) has dramatically increased to being the third most common type following that of biliary origin and excessive alcohol consumption worldwide. This phenomenon is more profound in China as per reports from recent large cohorts (n > 500) of acute pancreatitis in which the proportion of HTG-AP accounted for around one-third of all cases, similar to, or more than, that of contemporaneous biliary aetiology. Moreover, in most recent randomised controlled trials conducted in China, HTG-AP accounted for around 50% of all cases, making it an important etiology for acute pancreatitis.