Does the Frequency of Acute Pancreatitis Decrease in Ramadan

Abstract

Purpose: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases requiring acute hospitalization worldwide. During fasting, individuals are not supposed to eat and drink. In Islamic societies, even those with chronic alcohol consumption are known to have stopped this consumption within the month of Ramadan. Our study ultimately intends to reveal the variation of AP in two different time periods. Material and methods: The patients over 18 years who were diagnosed with AP between January 2012 and December 2018 in the emergency department (ED) and subsequently hospitalized in the general surgery service of Pamukkale University were included in the study retrospectively. The patients were compared, based on their demographic characteristics, admittance times, white blood cell count, hemoglobin values, amylase, lipase, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), C reactive protein (CRP), alanina aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and triglyceride values. Results: The total number of patients was 68, 66 (97.1%) of whom stayed in the general surgery service in non-Ramadan months, while 2 (2.9%) did so in the within-Ramadan group. Both patients in the within-Ramadan group were diagnosed with edamatous pancreatitis and were classified as mild. The CRP mean was 11.98 mg/ dL (±13.24) in the non-Ramadan group and 0.95 mg/dL (±0.80) in-Ramadan group (normal reference value <0.5 mg/dL). Conclusion: A clinically significant difference exists between 66 patients in the non-Ramadan group and 2 patients in the within-Ramadan group, even though the two groups could not be compared statistically. The scarcity of patients who admitted to the emergency department in Ramadan for 7 years is remarkable. © 2021, Pamukkale University. All rights reserved.