Danış F, Kudu E. Recurrent acute pancreatitis and primary hyperparathyroidism in patients presenting to the emergency department: Diagnostic challenges. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(17): 100741 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i17.100741]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Emre Kudu, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital, Fevzi Çakmak, Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu Cd 10, İstanbul 34899, Türkiye. dr.emre.kudu@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Emergency Medicine
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Jun 16, 2025; 13(17): 100741 Published online Jun 16, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i17.100741
Recurrent acute pancreatitis and primary hyperparathyroidism in patients presenting to the emergency department: Diagnostic challenges
Faruk Danış, Emre Kudu
Faruk Danış, Department of Emergency Medicine, Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Medical School, Bolu 14000, Türkiye
Emre Kudu, Department of Emergency Medicine, Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul 34899, Türkiye
Co-first authors: Faruk Danış and Emre Kudu.
Author contributions: Danış F designed the overall concept, outline, and design of the manuscript; Kudu E contributed to the discussion, writing, editing of the manuscript, and review of the literature; and all authors approved the final version to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Emre Kudu, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital, Fevzi Çakmak, Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu Cd 10, İstanbul 34899, Türkiye. dr.emre.kudu@gmail.com
Received: August 24, 2024 Revised: January 19, 2025 Accepted: January 21, 2025 Published online: June 16, 2025 Processing time: 177 Days and 11.1 Hours
Abstract
We read the article by Karim MM et al discusses the presentation of primary hyperparathyroidism as recurrent acute pancreatitis, a rare clinical condition in pediatric patients presenting to the emergency department. As emergency medicine clinicians, we frequently encounter diverse and complex cases, and such rare conditions pose significant challenges in the diagnostic process. This article will discuss the management and diagnostic approach of such cases encountered in the emergency department.
Core Tip: Recurrent cases of acute pancreatitis can present a diagnostic challenge in the emergency department and are rarely caused by underlying endocrine disorders such as primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). PHPT can lead to hypercalcemia, increasing the risk of pancreatitis, which may present with less pronounced symptoms, especially in children. Emergency medicine clinicians should adopt a careful clinical assessment and multidisciplinary approach to differentiate rare etiologies, especially in cases of atypical pancreatitis. This case highlights that PHPT may be missed in pediatrics and suggests using high clinical suspicion and advanced imaging techniques to make the correct diagnosis.