Elevated Lipase in an Infant with Altered Mental Status.

The pancreatic enzymes lipase and amylase serve important functions in digestion/absorption of fats and polysaccharides. Measurement of these enzymes is often used in the emergency department to rule out acute pancreatitis in patients with nonspecific abdominal pain. In acute pancreatitis, serial measurements of plasma lipase and amylase typically follow a predictable temporal pattern of rise-and-fall kinetics: lipase levels rise within 4 to 8 hours, crest at 2× to 50× the upper reference limit at 24 hours, and decline to normal concentrations in 7 to 14 days. In situations in which the duration and magnitude of pancreatic enzyme elevation are more transient, clinicians should consider alternative causes for enzyme elevation. In this case report, incidental discovery of elevated lipase in an African American baby girl who ingested oxycodone resulted in additional laboratory and radiological work-up. Stronger awareness of exogenous influences on gastrointestinal motility may have prevented the need for further testing in this patient.

Benign Pancreatic Hyperenzymemia, Also Known as Gullo's Syndrome.

Benign pancreatic hyperenzymemia, also known as Gullo's syndrome, is a little-known syndrome first described in 1996 in patients studied for an elevation of pancreatic enzymes while otherwise being asymptomatic. We describe the case of a 2-year-old patient who was found to have significant elevation of amylase and lipase levels while he was asymptomatic. Blood tests and imaging tests were performed to determine the etiology, but they gave normal results. The enzyme elevation can even be 10 times the normal value of the enzyme, and only 1 enzyme may elevate, although most often all pancreatic enzymes are elevated. The etiology is not known, although several hypotheses have been suggested. This enzyme elevation is described both in adults and children and also sporadically or with a familial pattern. Knowledge of it can limit the performance of the multiple complementary test, some of which are very invasive in patients who have elevated pancreatic enzymes while they are asymptomatic. It knowledge allows us to confirm a benign prognosis about it and reassure the family about this disease and that in the end it will not require aggressive treatments such as surgery or chemotherapy.

Sodium valproate induced acute pancreatitis in a bipolar disorder patient: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Sodium valproate is one of the most widely used antiepileptics and mood stabilizers. However, this drug may induce acute pancreatitis. Few cases have been reported so far, mainly on the pediatric patients who underwent antiepileptic treatment. Hereby, we present a case of bipolar disorder with sodium valproate-induced acute pancreatitis. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient is a 54-year-old Chinese male. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder for more than 39 years. Since the first onset of the disease, he had several relapses. The patient had had sodium valproate to stabilize mood swings for a year before the occurrence of acute pancreatitis. But he did vomit once during the inpatient care period. Then he was referred to another hospital following a notably high level of amylase. The results of computed tomography demonstrated an increased pancreatic volume and swollen peripancreatic fat tissue. As a result, the patient was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. Unlike other cases reported in literatures, the high amylase level did not revert to normal after the withdrawal of medications. The patient was discharged from hospital with a high level of amylase, and was placed under follow-up observations. CONCLUSION: Acute pancreatitis is considered as one of the idiosyncratic adverse reactions to antiepileptic drugs. Previous reports were mainly on the pediatric patients with increased propensity to idiosyncratic drug effects, or the adult chronic renal failure patients with sodium valproate-induced pancreatitis due to the retention of intermediate metabolites in their bodies. In this study, even though our patient exhibited no high risk of developing pancreatitis, he was treated for drug-induced acute pancreatitis in three hospitals. As rare as drug-induced acute pancreatitis can be, it should not be overlooked, Moreover, the mechanism of how sodium valproate induces acute pancreatitis remains unknown. Therefore, physicians need to consider the medical history of patients before prescribing this medication.

Characterization of serum irisin in patients with severe acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: Irisin, as a novel and versatile hormone secreted by skeletal myocytes and fat tissues, is reported to be involved in inflammation-related diseases; one of the main characteristics of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is inflammatory responses. This study aims to describe the characteristics of irisin in SAP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Here, we enrolled 50 controls, 20 with no acute pancreatitis (AP), 20 AP, and 12 SAP patients, determined white blood cell, blood glucose, C-reactive protein, urine amylase, blood lipase, and serum irisin using an analyzer and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at the indicated time-points, analyzed the correlations of irisin with blood glucose, sex, and age, and then predicted the morality and complications of organ failure and/or exacerbations of comorbidities in SAP by irisin. RESULTS: The results showed no significant difference in all groups in the clinical parameters (P>0.05), except that white blood cell was significantly higher in no AP, AP, and SAP than the controls (P<0.05). In addition, irisin levels were significantly lower and maintained a steadily low trend in the process of SAP than others (P<0.05), whereas C-reactive protein, urine amylase, and blood lipase in the SAP and AP groups were higher than others and kept decreasing tendency (P<0.01). Moreover, the irisin level in female SAP patients was significantly higher than that in male patients, but no differences were found in the other groups (P>0.05). In addition, the correlation between irisin levels and blood glucose was better in the SAP group than that between irisin levels and age in SAP patients and controls, although a relatively better correlation was found in SAP patients than the controls. Finally, the prognostic significance of mortality and complications of SAP according to irisin levels represented significantly, especially for complications of organ failure and/or exacerbations of comorbidities in female SAP. CONCLUSION: Therefore, serum irisin level has unique characteristics and may be an independent factor and useful to predict the mortality, and complications in SAP patients, especially in female SAP patients.

Henoch-Schönlein purpura with acute pancreatitis: analysis of 13 cases.

BACKGROUND: Henoch-Schönlein purpura is a common small vessel vasculitis in children. Acute pancreatitis rarely presents as a complication of Henoch-Schönlein purpura and has not been well characterized. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 13 cases of Henoch-Schönlein purpura with acute pancreatitis among 3212 patients who attended our hospital between January 2003 and June 2016 and analyzed their clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, imaging findings, treatment and overall prognosis. RESULTS: All patients had abdominal manifestations, including significant abdominal pain (13/13), vomiting (9/13), abdominal distension (3/13) and melena (6/13). Serum amylase level significantly increased in all patients, and urine amylase was increased in 7 cases (7/10). However, increased urine lapse was only noted in 2 cases (2/5), and diffuse swelling of the pancreas was seen in 2 cases (2/13) by abdominal ultrasonography. Although all patients had typical skin purpura (13/13), 5 patients (5/13) with acute pancreatitis initially experienced acute abdominal pain in clinical onset of Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Glucocorticoid therapy was effective in alleviating abdominal symptoms of Henoch-Schönlein purpura patients with acute pancreatitis. All patients were in good general condition without any abdominal complications 6-12 months after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Acute pancreatitis is rarely observed in Henoch-Schönlein purpura children and has no specific clinical features that differentiate it from abdominal manifestations of Henoch-Schönlein purpura. Therefore, in Henoch-Schönlein purpura patients with severe abdominal pain, serum amylase levels should be assessed to confirm the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Early diagnose of Henoch-Schönlein purpura with acute pancreatitis and treatment timely was very important for good clinical outcomes.

Evaluation of HVHF for the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis accompanying MODS.

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) prevention is key to severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) treatment and the assessment of high-volume hemofiltration (HVHF) for treating SAP accompanying multiple organ dysfunction syndromes.In this prospective controlled study, 40 SAP patients were divided into 2 groups: control (n = 22, treated with fasting, decompression, and intravenous somatostatin) and HVHF (n = 18, HVHF administration in addition to the treatment in the control group) groups; and were assessed for serum and urine amylase, WBC, C-reactive protein (CRP), and hepatic and renal functions. Vital signs and abdominal symptoms were recorded, and complications and mortality were analyzed.APACHE II scores in the HVHF group were significantly lower than in the control group at 3 and 7 days (6.3 ±â€Š1.7 vs 9.2 ±â€Š2.1 and 3.3 ±â€Š0.8 vs 6.2 ±â€Š1.7, respectively). Compared with controls, serum, and urine amylase, WBC, CRP, and organ functions significantly improved after HVHF treatment. Meanwhile, mortality (16.7% vs 31.8%) and complication (11.1% vs 40.9%) rates were significantly reduced.The other clinical parameters were significantly ameliorated by HVHF. HVHF rapidly reduces abdominal symptoms and improves prognosis, reducing mortality in SAP patients; and is likely through systemic inflammatory response syndrome attenuation in the early disease stage.

Serum amylase and lipase and urinary trypsinogen and amylase for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of people with acute abdominal pain differs if they have acute pancreatitis. It is important to know the diagnostic accuracy of serum amylase, serum lipase, urinary trypsinogen-2, and urinary amylase for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, so that an informed decision can be made as to whether the person with abdominal pain has acute pancreatitis. There is currently no Cochrane review of the diagnostic test accuracy of serum amylase, serum lipase, urinary trypsinogen-2, and urinary amylase for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. OBJECTIVES: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of serum amylase, serum lipase, urinary trypsinogen-2, and urinary amylase, either alone or in combination, in the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis in people with acute onset of a persistent, severe epigastric pain or diffuse abdominal pain. SEARCH METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Science Citation Index Expanded, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR HTA and DARE), and other databases until March 2017. We searched the references of the included studies to identify additional studies. We did not restrict studies based on language or publication status, or whether data were collected prospectively or retrospectively. We also performed a 'related search' and 'citing reference' search in MEDLINE and Embase. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included all studies that evaluated the diagnostic test accuracy of serum amylase, serum lipase, urinary trypsinogen-2, and urinary amylase for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. We excluded case-control studies because these studies are prone to bias. We accepted any of the following reference standards: biopsy, consensus conference definition, radiological features of acute pancreatitis, diagnosis of acute pancreatitis during laparotomy or autopsy, and organ failure. At least two review authors independently searched and screened the references located by the search to identify relevant studies. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data from the included studies. The thresholds used for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis varied in the trials, resulting in sparse data for each index test. Because of sparse data, we used -2 log likelihood values to determine which model to use for meta-analysis. We calculated and reported the sensitivity, specificity, post-test probability of a positive and negative index test along with 95% confidence interval (CI) for each cutoff, but have reported only the results of the recommended cutoff of three times normal for serum amylase and serum lipase, and the manufacturer-recommended cutoff of 50 mg/mL for urinary trypsinogen-2 in the abstract. MAIN RESULTS: Ten studies including 5056 participants met the inclusion criteria for this review and assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the index tests in people presenting to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain. The risk of bias was unclear or high for all of the included studies. The study that contributed approximately two-thirds of the participants included in this review was excluded from the results of the analysis presented below due to major concerns about the participants included in the study. We have presented only the results where at least two studies were included in the analysis.Serum amylase, serum lipase, and urinary trypsinogen-2 at the standard threshold levels of more than three times normal for serum amylase and serum lipase, and a threshold of 50 ng/mL for urinary trypsinogen-2 appear to have similar sensitivities (0.72 (95% CI 0.59 to 0.82); 0.79 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.92); and 0.72 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.84), respectively) and specificities (0.93 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.99); 0.89 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.99); and 0.90 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.93), respectively). At the median prevalence of 22.6% of acute pancreatitis in the studies, out of 100 people with positive test, serum amylase (more than three times normal), serum lipase (more than three times normal), and urinary trypsinogen (more than 50 ng/mL), 74 (95% CI 33 to 94); 68 (95% CI 21 to 94); and 67 (95% CI 57 to 76) people have acute pancreatitis, respectively; out of 100 people with negative test, serum amylase (more than three times normal), serum lipase (more than three times normal), and urinary trypsinogen (more than 50 ng/mL), 8 (95% CI 5 to 12); 7 (95% CI 3 to 15); and 8 (95% CI 5 to 13) people have acute pancreatitis, respectively. We were not able to compare these tests formally because of sparse data. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: As about a quarter of people with acute pancreatitis fail to be diagnosed as having acute pancreatitis with the evaluated tests, one should have a low threshold to admit the patient and treat them for acute pancreatitis if the symptoms are suggestive of acute pancreatitis, even if these tests are normal. About 1 in 10 patients without acute pancreatitis may be wrongly diagnosed as having acute pancreatitis with these tests, therefore it is important to consider other conditions that require urgent surgical intervention, such as perforated viscus, even if these tests are abnormal.The diagnostic performance of these tests decreases even further with the progression of time, and one should have an even lower threshold to perform additional investigations if the symptoms are suggestive of acute pancreatitis.

Risk Factors of Acute Pancreatitis in Oral Double Balloon Enteroscopy.

Double balloon enteroscopy (DBE) was introduced 15 years ago. The complications of diagnostic DBE are rare, acute pancreatitis is most redoubtable one (incidence about 0.3%). Hyperamylasemia after DBE seems to be a rather common condition respectively. The most probable cause seems to be a mechanical straining of the pancreas. We tried to identify patients in a higher risk of acute pancreatitis after DBE. We investigated several laboratory markers before and after DBE (serum cathepsin B, lactoferrin, E-selectin, SPINK 1, procalcitonin, S100 proteins, alfa-1-antitrypsin, hs-CRP, malondialdehyde, serum and urine amylase and serum lipase). Serum amylase and lipase rose significantly with the maximum 4 hours after DBE. Serum cathepsin and procalcitonin decreased significantly 4 hours after DBE compared to healthy controls and patients values before DBE. Either serum amylase or lipase 4 hours after DBE did not correlate with any markers before DBE. There was a trend for an association between the number of push-and-pull cycles and procalcitonin and urine amylase 4 hours after DBE; between procalcitonin and alfa-1-antitrypsin, cathepsin and hs-CRP; and between E-selectin and malondialdehyde 4 hours after DBE. We found no laboratory markers determinative in advance those patients in a higher risk of acute pancreatitis after DBE.

A retrospective analysis of survival factors of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment for unresectable pancreatic cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively evaluate possible impact factors of HIFU treatment outcome for unresectable pancreatic cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 689 patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer were recruited in our center from December 30, 2007 to January 30, 2015. 436 patients with unresectable pancreatic cancers received HIFU treatment; the other 253 patients received non-HIFU treatment. Among these 436 patients, 345 patients received a one-time HIFU treatment, 91 patients received HIFU treatment from 2 to 5 times in the same pancreatic mass; 89 patients received HIFU treatment alone; 347 patients received HIFU-based combined therapies. Complications and overall survivals (OS) data in each group were collected. RESULTS: The median overall survivals (mOS) in HIFU group and non-HIFU group were 7.1 vs. 5 months (P=0.005): 9.3 vs. 7.3 months (P=0.202) for patients with stage II disease, 8.3 vs. 7.3 months (P=0.783) for patients with stage III disease, and 6.4 vs. 4.2 months (P<0.0001) for patients with stage IV disease, respectively. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between repeated HIFU and one-time HIFU (mOS: 8.6 vs. 6.8 months, P=0.011). Time of HIFU treatment (P=0.0027), chemotherapy (P<0.0001), radiotherapy (P=0.0006), regional intra-arterial chemotherapy (RIAC) (P<0.0001), and stage (P<0.0001) were independent prognostic factors for the patients who received HIFU treatment. Cox analysis on the relative risk of prognostic factors showed that repeated HIFU vs. one-time HIFU (HR=0.729: 95% CI=0.576-0.924), chemotherapy vs. non-chemotherapy (HR=0.664: 95% CI=0.576-0.766), radiotherapy vs. non-radiotherapy (HR=0.580: 95% CI=0.427-0.789), RIAC vs. non-RIAC (HR=0.737: 95% CI=0.648-0.837), and stage (HR=1.386, 95% CI=1.187-1.619) were associated with significantly inferior survival. Overall, adverse events occurred in 23.2% (101/436) in the HIFU group, which included increase of serum or urinary amylase levels, incomplete intestinal obstruction, mild fever, etc. There were no severe adverse events such as skin burns or GI perforation related to HIFU therapy in any of the patients treated. CONCLUSION: This retrospective analysis revealed that the use of a multimodal treatment approach (the combined therapy of HIFU, RIAC, and chemotherapy, with or without radiotherapy) could improve survival of patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer, and repeated HIFU presented a survival benefit and did not increase risk.

Acute pancreatitis associated with severe hypertriglyceridaemia; A retrospective cohort study.

AIM: Acute Pancreatitis (AP) secondary to hypertriglyceridaemia (HTG) is a rare association of which little is known in the literature. This study investigates patient characteristics and outcomes (reoccurrence and mortality) in those presenting with AP secondary to HTG in one of the largest reported British cohorts. METHODS: A retrospective observational case note review of all patients treated at our institution between 2004 and 2012. Data are expressed as mean and standard deviation if parametric and as median and range if non-parametric. Full fasting lipid profiles and patient demographics were recorded to elucidate further the cause of the severe hypertriglyceridaemia (>10 mmol/L fasting). RESULTS: There were 784 patients admitted with AP admitted to our institution within the study period. APHTG was present in 18 patients (2.3%). Peak serum triglyceride concentration was 43.9 mmol/L, SD 18.9 mmol/L. Serum amylase activity was 'falsely' low (with raised urine amylase) in about 10% of the patients with acute pancreatitis and hypertriglyceridaemia. 67% of our patients had type 2 diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance, 28% had a fatty liver and 50% displayed alcohol excess all these conditions are known to be associated with HTG There was a 94.5% reduction in serum triglyceride between presentation and last follow-up visit. There were also no deaths or recurrent episodes of AP during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: APHTG was present in 2.3% of patients presenting with AP. The reoccurrence and mortality rates were zero in this cohort. This may in part be due to aggressive serum triglyceride lowering by a multi-disciplinary team. Early clinical recognition is vital to provide targeted treatment and to try and reduce further episodes of AP.

High urine amylase level and the risk of enteric conversion in solitary pancreas transplant recipients.

INTRODUCTION: Compared with enteric drainage, bladder-drained solitary pancreas transplants can be monitored for rejection by measuring urine amylase levels. However, bladder drainage is associated with a higher risk of infection and metabolic complications, necessitating enteric conversion in about one third of patients. We hypothesized that hypersecreting pancreata with high urine amylase levels have a higher propensity for enteric conversion from an antecedent elevated enzymatic effect on the urinary tract and increased fluid losses. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed the risk for enteric conversion in 312 bladder-drained solitary pancreas transplant recipients. Urine amylase levels at 30 days were used to identify those at risk for enteric conversion. Time-to-event analysis was used to evaluate the risk of enteric conversion at 10 years, adjusting for urine amylase level and other confounding factors. Confounding risk factors statistically related to enteric conversion were incorporated into the multivariable analysis by using Cox proportional hazards regression at 3 years' posttransplant. RESULTS: During the median follow-up of 184.6 months, 31% of recipients underwent duct conversion. A majority of recipients (84.5%) who required duct conversion were primary transplants. The 30-day median urine amylase level was 1749 IU/h (quartile 1, <777 IU/h; quartile 3, ≥3272 IU/h). Using receiver operating characteristic analysis, it was determined that urine amylase levels >3272 IU/h had the greatest specificity for predicting risk of enteric conversion. In the multivariate analysis, high urine amylase levels increased the risk of enteric conversion only in repeated pancreas transplants. CONCLUSIONS: Primary transplants are more likely to undergo enteric conversion than retransplants. High urine amylase levels increase the risk of enteric conversion in retransplants only, and therefore this enzyme alone cannot serve as the sole predictor for conversion in primary transplants. Other factors, such as fluid and bicarbonate losses, increased bladder pressure, and a pre-existing lower urinary tract pathologic condition may be also responsible for the development of complications; these factors warrant additional study.

Improving monitoring after pancreas transplantation alone: fine-tuning of an old technique.

Graft survival after pancreas transplantation alone (PTA) is significantly poorer than graft survival after simultaneous pancreas kidney (SPK) and is particularly affected by difficulty in monitoring rejection. Exocrine bladder drainage allows assessment of pancreas graft function as urinary amylase (UA). However, standards for UA collection and interpretation are not well defined. In this study, 21 bladder-drained PTA recipients were monitored with daily values for UA and urine creatinine (Creat) concentration from post-transplant 10-mL samples and 24-h collections. Clinical events were documented and correlated to UA measurements. UA values were found to increase post-transplant until day 15, and large interpatient variability was noted (median 12 676 IU/L, range 668-60 369 IU/L). A strong correlation was found total 24-h UA production and spot UA/Creat ratio (r = 0.80, p < 0.001). UA/Creat ratio showed less variation during episodes of impaired renal function; therefore, urinary amylase baseline was defined as the median UA/Creat ratio after day 15. A > 25% decrease of UA predicted 9/13 (69%) events. We conclude that individual baselines should be set once the values have stabilized after 15 d post-transplant and that spot UA/Creat measures are reliable, patient friendly and indicate potential events after PTA.

Urinary amylase/urinary creatinine ratio (uAm/uCr)--a less-invasive parameter for management of hyperamylasemia.

BACKGROUND: The serum level of amylase (sAm) is commonly used as a biochemical marker for diagnosis and management of pancreatic disorders. However, the use of the urine level of amylase (uAm) is limited in practice, because the diagnostic ability of uAm is inferior to that of sAm. In the present study, the possible concordance of uAm-rerated parameters with sAm was investigated, and evaluate the usefulness of uAm for management of hyperamylasemia. METHODS: From June 1995 to October 2009, 804 samples of both urine and blood were collected from 128 patients in order to measure the serum level of amylase (sAm) and the urine level of amylase (uAm) and creatinine (uCr). Concordance of parameters using uAm compared to sAm was assessed. Parameters used were uAm, amylase creatinine clearance ratio (ACCR), and the ratio of uAm to uCr (uAm/uCr). RESULTS: uAm/uCr had the best correlation with sAm (r = 0.779, p < 0.001) compared to uAm (r = 0.620, p < 0.001) and to ACCR (r = 0.374, p < 0.001), when sAm was over the standard level. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of uAm/uCr (0.884) was significantly higher than that of uAm (0.766) and of ACCR (0.666) (p < 0.001 for each). The cutoff value of uAm/uCr was 569.8, with a sensitivity of 81.0% and a specificity of 83.1%. CONCLUSIONS: The uAm/uCr ratio correlated with sAm, and may be an alternative to sAm for prediction of hyperamylasemia. Use of urine samples results in a decreased need for blood sampling, which is especially beneficial in pediatric patients.

Successful endovascular salvage of a pancreatic graft after a venous thrombosis: case report and literature review.

Simultaneous kidney and pancreatic transplant is the criterion standard for treatment of end-stage renal failure because of diabetic nephropathy. Venous thrombosis occurs in approximately 5% of pancreatic transplants, and it is notoriously difficult to treat, forming the most common nonimmunologic cause of graft loss. We report a case of early detection of pancreatic graft venous thrombosis by measuring urinary amylase, resulting in the successful endovascular salvage of the pancreatic graft.

[Acute pancreatitis is unknown etiology in a 15 years old teenager].

The article describes a case of acute pancreatitis in progressing course, of unspecified etiology of a 15 year old child with a lethal outcome. It is stated 6.5 times increased amylase blood and 13.5 times increased diastase of urine.

Heterotopic pancreas of the gallbladder associated with chronic cholecystitis and high levels of amylasuria.

CONTEXT: Heterotopic pancreas of the gallbladder is an extremely rare entity, especially when pancreatic tissue appears histologically with an exclusively exocrine structure. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 35-year-old man who presented with symptoms of acalculous gallbladder disease with high levels of amylasuria. Immunohistochemical analysis of the surgical specimen of the cholecystectomy revealed pancreatic tissue at the gallbladder wall. CONCLUSIONS: Heterotopic pancreatic tissue is a rare pathological finding in the gallbladder. It requires consideration and sensitization in the differential diagnosis of acalculous gallbladder disease, which can explain hyperamylasuria in cases of unknown origin.