Retinopathy as a systemic complication of acute pancreatitis.

We describe three cases of sudden severe retinopathy in patients with acute pancreatitis. The relative times of the organ manifestations and comparisons with other published cases strongly suggest that pancreatitis was the cause of the retinal changes. This systemic complication is unknown to most physicians, but approximately 35 cases have been published. The pathogenesis is not well known. We briefly discuss the significance of this complication and several possible pathogenetic mechanisms.