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We recently published in GUT the outcomes of acute pancreatitis (AP) and coexisting SARS-CoV-2 infection.1 A number of patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive had AP of unknown aetiology (25%) speculating SARS-CoV-2 as a cause for AP similar to other viruses.2 However, most patients did not complete investigations to exclude other causes of AP. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause aberrant glycometabolic control,3 however it is unknown if this increases the risk of long-term diabetes mellitus (DM). The follow-up data were collected 12 months from the date of recruitment for 1476 patients (118 patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive and 1358 patients who were negative) to establish an aetiology for AP and development of DM. Among the 118 patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive, 35 patients had idiopathic or unknown aetiology AP. Sixteen patients underwent either MRCP (n=13) or EUS (n=4) and the remaining patients underwent biochemical investigations to exclude other causes of AP. The final aetiology of AP was available for 83 (70.3%) patients and included gallstones (56, 47.4%), alcohol (19, 16.1%), post ERCP (2, 1.7%) and other (6, 5.1%). Overall, 23 patients had a change of aetiology, and in 35 (29.7%) patients AP was considered idiopathic. Patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive were more likely to have idiopathic AP (34.7% vs 13.9%, p<0.001) with over five times increased risk after adjusting for age, smoking status, body mass index and ethnicity (OR: 5.34, p<0.001) (table 1 and online supplemental table S1).
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Thirteen (11.0%) patients in the SARS-CoV-2 positive group and 187 (13.8%) patients in the negative group were readmitted with AP (p=0.949). The aetiology and baseline characteristics are summarised in online supplemental table S2. The risk of readmission was higher in younger patients, and lower in those with gallstone and idiopathic aetiology (online supplemental table S3).
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Two patients developed DM and nine patients developed pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI) in the SARS-CoV-2 positive group. SARS-CoV-2 did not increase the risk of DM (2.3% vs 2.5%, OR: 0.61, p=0.541) or PEI (OR: 1.11, p=0.828) (p>0.05; table 2).
Mortality after discharge was 12.7% in the SARS-CoV-2 positive group and 5.4% in the negative group (log-rank, p<0.0001; online supplemental figure S1). However, this was not statistically significant in a multivariable Cox-regression model (HR: 1.89, p=0.078).
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The higher number of patients with idiopathic AP in the present series raises speculation that SARS-Cov-2 may indeed cause AP. Recently autopsy evidence has identified SARS-CoV-2 virus in the pancreases of infected patients, with focal pancreatitis seen in autopsy specimens higher than that is diagnosed clinically.4 5 Laboratory evidence further suggests there is expression of ACE 2, TMPRSS and Neuropilin-1 receptors in exocrine and endocrine cells of pancreas which enables SARS-CoV-2 entry and replication, resulting in elevated cytokine levels causing ribosomal dysfunction and pancreatic injury.5–7 Recent series have further shown that AP during SARS-CoV-2 infection is frequent in intensive care unit8 with a third of critically ill patients developing AP.9
Hyperglycaemia frequently noted SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely from viral replication in beta cells causing impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion,5 with glycaemic abnormalities detected for up to 2 months after recovery.3 In the present series, two patients in the positive group developed DM during follow-up and both had severe AP with necrosis which is likely the cause of DM rather than SARS-CoV-2-induced damage.
We have shown that SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the risk of idiopathic AP, but not long-term diabetes. Further laboratory studies that can prove replication of SARS-CoV-2 virus in human pancreas cells with resultant cell injury are warranted to establish SARS-CoV-2 virus as an aetiology for AP. Epidemiological studies are needed that can show an increase in the incidence of AP during the current pandemic to further implicate SARS-CoV-2 infection as a cause for AP and will add indirect evidence. Similarly, larger cohort of patients with SARS-CoV-2 with temporal trends to support or refute the long-term risk of developing DM are warranted.
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Ethics statements
Patient consent for publication
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This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.
Supplementary Data
This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.
Footnotes
Twitter @drmanuknayar, @chrisvarghese98, @sanjay_HPB
Correction notice This article has been corrected since it published Online First. The collaborator group has been updated.
Collaborators COVIDPAN Collborative Group: Abeer Altaf (Department of Gastroenterology, Dr. Ziauddin University Hospital, Clifton Karachi, Pakistan); Alexandra Bell (Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK); Aleg Aliosin (Klaipeda University Hospital, Klaipeda, Lithuania.); Zahid Bahli (Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Londonderry, UK); Aman Ahmad (St. James University Hospital, Leeds, UK); Anantha Madhavan (James cook university hospital, Middlesbrough, UK); Andrea Mingoli (Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy); Angus White (The Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, Wales); Arthur Cotton (Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucestershire, UK); Ashiv Patel (East surrey hospital, Surrey, UK); AyoBobola A Apampa (Royal Liverpool hospital, Liverpool, UK); Bakhat Yawar (Western Health and Social Care Trust, Altnagelvin, Northern Ireland, UK); Bamidele Famokunwa (Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, UK); Blazej Rybinski (University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Plymouth, UK); Bruno Cirillo (Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy); Bryony Ford (University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Plymouth, UK); Caitlin Jordan (Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, UK); Catrin Jones (Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK); Chris Varghese (Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand); Charalampos Konstantinou (Warwick Hospital, Warwick, UK); Charles Geoffrey, Dermot Stewart (Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, UK); Colin Wilson (Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK); Daniel Marshall (St James’ University Hospital, Leeds, UK); David Bourne (Freeman hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK); Danny Chandla (University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Coventry, UK); Değercan Yeşilyurt (University of Health Sciences Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Department of General Surgery, İzmir, Turkey); Dharmadev Trivedi (Southampton general hospital, Southampton, UK); Duncan Rutherford (Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Larbert, UK); Ebru Sezen Freed (Northampton General Hospital, Northampton, UK); Eleanor Massie (Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Larbert, UK); Elizabeth Ward (Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK); Ellen Murgitroyd (Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK); Emily Britton (Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucester, UK); Euan J Dickson (Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK); Evripidis Tokidis (Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Trust, Chesterfield, UK); Faris Soliman (Morriston Hospital, Swansea, Wales, UK); Francesco Abbadessa (Freeman hospital, Newcastle UK); Gautam Singh (Frimley Park Hospital, Camberley, UK); Ghazaleh MOHAMMADI-ZANIANI (Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK); Gordon Gregory (Nottingham city hospital, Nottingham, UK); George Ugwu (Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Doncaster, UK); George Brown (St James Hospital,Leeds, UK); Gioia Brachini (Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy); James Walmsley (Northampton General Hospital, Northampton, UK); Shabuddin Khan (Northampton General Hospital, Northampton, UK); Hadil Said (Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, UK); Heba Ali (Western Health and Social Care Trust, Altnagelvin. Northern Ireland); Harriet Whewell (The Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport,UK); Harry VM Spiers (Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK); Henry D De’Ath (Frimley Park Hospital, Camberley, UK); Hu Ying Charmaine Chan (Southampton University Hospital, Southampton); Imran Bhatti (Royal Derby Hospital, Derby, UK); Islam Noaman (Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK); İsmail Sert (University of Health Sciences Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Department of General Surgery, İzmir, Turkey); James A Gossage (Kings college hospital, London); Jack Martin (Addenbrooke’s hospital, Cambridge); James Blackwell (Nottingham city hospital, Nottingham, UK); James Williams (Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol, UK); Jasmine Grace Moore (Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries, UK); Jenna Shepherd (Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, UK); Jennifer Wheat (The University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.); Jenny Cao (Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge); Jeremy Fenech (Mater Dei Hospital, Malta); John Leeds (Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Upon Tyne); Kofi Oppong (Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Upon Tyne); Anitha James (Wexham Park Hospital, Frimley, UK); Kai Hartshorn (University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Coventry, UK); Kelsey Rowsell (Morriston Hospital, Swansea, UK); Ken Philip (Weston General Hospital, Bristol, UK); Khaled Abdelgalel (Warwick hospital, Warwick, UK); Kieran McGivern (Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Larbert, UK); Leo Richard Brown (Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries, UK); Louise Howse (University Hospital Lewisham, Lewisham, UK); Louise M Finch (Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK); Louise Silva (University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK); Maitreyi Patel (Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, UK); Mandeep Kaur (Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, UK); Marcus Quinn (Southmead Hospital, Bristol, UK); Marwa Ahmed Jama (Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, UK); Rajiv Lahiri (Royal Surrey County Hospital, Essex, UK); James Hopkins (Southmead Hospital, Bristol, UK); Mohamed abousamra (Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Londonderry,UK); Mohamed Issa (Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral, UK); Mohammed Hammoda (Morriston Hospital, Swansea,UK); Muhammad Ali Qadeer (Department of Gastroenterology, Dr. Ziauddin University Hospital, Clifton Karachi, Pakistan); Momin Eltayeb (St James Hospital, Leeds,UK); Muneeb Zafar (Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries, UK); Mishal Shahid (Musgrove Park, Taunton, UK); Nanda Bandlamudi (Royal Derby Hospital, Derby, UK); Nnaemeka Chidumije (Heartlands hospital, Birmingham); Navneet Tiwari (Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK); Obi Nwogwugwu (Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol, UK); Olivia Spence (Northern General hospital, Sheffield, UK); Paul Bassett (Stats consultancy LTD, UK); Paula Ghaneh (The Royal Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, UK); Paula Strong (The University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK); Peter Szatmary (The Royal Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, UK); Riadh Salem (Wexham park, Frimley Health, UK); Rupaly Pande (Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham); Qazi R Muhammad (University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Coventry, UK); Quentin M Nunes (Aintree Hospital, Liverpool, UK); Qurrat Al Ain Atif (Royal Sussex county hospital, Brighton, UK); Robert Sutton (The Royal Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, UK); Robert Young (Arrowe Park Hospital, Wirral, UK); Roland Taylor (St James University Hospital, Leeds, UK); Sam Tingle (Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK); Sarunas Dailidenas (Klaipeda University Hospital, Klaipeda, Lithuania); Sudin Daniel (Doncaster Royal Infirmary, Doncaster, UK); Sapna Gupta (Royal Gwent Hospital); Santhalingam Jegatheeswaran (Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, UK); Sattam Halaseh (Weston General Hospital, Bristol, UK); Shehryar Noor (Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, UK); Simon J McCluney (Whittington Hospital, London, UK); Sophie Allen (East surrey hospital, Surrey, UK); Stephanie Goh (Addenbrooke’s hospital, Cambridge, UK); Steven Brown (James cook university hospital, Middlesbrough, UK); Stuart Cowie (James cook university hospital, Middlesbrough, UK); Tayfun Kaya (University of Health Sciences Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Department of General Surgery, İzmir, Turkey); Thomas Tolley (The Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, Wales); Tamer Ghorab (Western Health and Social Care Trust; Altnagelvin. Northern Ireland. UK); Victoria Morrison-Jones (Southampton General hospital, Southampton, UK); John Moir (Freeman Hospital, Newcastle Upon Tyne).
Contributors MN and SP were responsible for manuscript preparation, study concept and critical review. CV helped in manuscript preparation and critical review. All COVIDPAN Collaborators recruited patients.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.
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