Causes of Acute Pancreatitis:

Gallstones - account for at least 35-40% of all cases

Alcohol Use - 2nd most frequent cause

Hypertriglyceridemia - rare (1-4%)

Post ERCP - about 5% of patients are at risk of developing acute pancreatitis within 30 days

Drugs

Autoimmune disese such as SLE or Sjogren Syndrome

Genetic Factors

Abdominal Trauma

Postoperative Complication

Bacterial infections - Legionella, Leptospira, Mycoplasma, Salmonella

Viral infections - mumps, coxsackievirus, CMV, echovirus, hepatitis B

Parasitic infections - Ascaris, Cryptosporidium, Toxoplasma

Hypercalcemia

Hyperparathyroidism

Ischemia

Posterior penetrating ulcer

Scorpion venum

Organophosphate insecticide

Pancreatic or ampullary tumor

Pancreas divisum with ductular narrowing on pancreatogram

Oddi sphincter dysfunction

Idiopathic - 15-20% of cases!

Reference:

Atilla R and Oktay C. Pancreatitis and Cholecystitis. In: Tintinalli JE, Stapczynski J, Ma O, Cline DM, Cydulka RK, Meckler GD. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Guide. 7th edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.; 2011.