Clinical Impact of Pancreatic and Peripancreatic Hemorrhage Associated With Acute Pancreatitis

Purpose: The significance of pancreatitis-associated hemorrhage outside the context of a ruptured pseudoaneurysm remains unclear. This study aims to characterize the clinical significance of pancreatic hemorrhage during acute pancreatitis (AP).

Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients diagnosed with hemorrhagic pancreatitis (HP) from 2010 to 2021. HP was defined as a clinical diagnosis of AP and the presence of pancreatic or peripancreatic hemorrhage on cross-sectional imaging. Two radiologists assessed the pancreatitis type, degree of necrosis, hemorrhage location, peripancreatic collections, and peripancreatic vessels. Demographic and disease data, AP severity, and treatment decisions from admission to 3 months after discharge were extracted from hospital electronic health records.

Results: The study included 36 patients, stratified by AP severity into 12 (33.3%) mild, 13 (36.1%) moderate-severe, and 11 (30.6%) severe cases. Six (16.6%) of the patients experienced clinically significant bleeding, which led to changes in clinical management such as further imaging, modifications to anticoagulation regimens, or both. Among these, 50% (3 of 6) demonstrated active bleeding on further imaging, with 33% (2 of 6) of the bleeding being intrapancreatic. In contrast, 83% (30 of 36) of HP patients did not have clinically significant bleeding, and all but one did not require changes in clinical management. AP-associated splanchnic vein thrombosis occurred in 30.6% (11 of 36) of patients, and anticoagulation in these patients did not result in clinically significant bleeding.

Conclusions: HP without clinically significant bleeding does not necessitate changes in clinical management. However, hemorrhage may indicate more severe disease and is associated with a higher incidence of splanchnic vein thrombosis.