Risks for Drug Induced Pancreatitis

With all the press lately about the incretin mimetics and pancreatitis our current intern, Jennifer Webb, PharmD Candidate, FAMU has taken a look at the facts, and compared the chances of pancreatitis among classes of drugs and how the risk of death from these drugs compare to other things. Find the numbers yourself in her feature

Risks for Drug Induced Pancreatitis
Jennifer Webb, PharmD Candidate, FAMU

• Acute pancreatitis affects approximately 80,000 people in the US each year

• Chronic pancreatitis is seen more in men than women

• Most cases are caused by gallstones and alcohol abuse

• Drug induced pancreatitis only account for about 5% of the population diagnosed with pancreatitis.

Causes of Pancreatitis	Prevalence
Gallstones	45% of reported cases
Alcohol	35% of reported cases
Drug induced	5% of reported cases

• Drug induced pancreatitis rarely occurs and the prevalence of such incidences have been difficult to determine.

Risk of Pancreatitis from	Comments
Incretins	There have been 6 reported cases out of over 1million users but there were other causatives in each case.
Ace Inhibitors	There have been multiple cases reported but it is impossible to estimate the prevalence
Thiazide Diuretics	There have been 25 reported cases, but they are thought to be caused by electrolyte imbalances
Statins	3.9% out of 2576 patients

Risk of Drug Induced Death

• Medication related death is rare

• There is a greater risk of death riding in a car than taking a prescription medication.

Risk of Death from	Population risk per year
Automobile Accidents	1 out of 7,700
Aspirin Therapy	1 out of 10,000
Incretin Therapy	1 out of 350,000
Drowning	1 out of 86,000
Riding a motorcycle	1 out of 91,500
Firearms	1 out of 300,000
Tornados	1 out of 5 million
Lightning	1 out of 6 million
Caffeine	1 out of 100 million