Does the frequency of acute pancreatitis decrease in Ramadan?

Abstract

Purpose: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases requiring acutehospitalization 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 ofRamadan. 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 andDecember 2018 in the emergency department (ED) and subsequently hospitalized in the general surgery serviceof Pamukkale University were included in the study retrospectively. The patients were compared, based on theirdemographic 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 innon-Ramadan months, while 2 (2.9%) did so in the within-Ramadan group. Both patients in the within-Ramadangroup 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 <0.5mg/dL).Conclusion: A clinically significant difference exists between 66 patients in the non-Ramadan group and 2patients in the within-Ramadan group, even though the two groups could not be compared statistically. Thescarcity of patients who admitted to the emergency department in Ramadan for 7 years is remarkable.