Intra-articular Steroid Injection as the Etiology of Acute Pancreatitis

TL;DR

A patient developed acute pancreatitis after receiving intra-articular steroid injections, suggesting this could be a rare cause of the condition.

Contribution

This paper reports a novel case linking intra-articular corticosteroid injections to drug-induced pancreatitis.

Findings

A patient developed acute pancreatitis after two separate intra-articular corticosteroid injections.

Other common causes of pancreatitis were ruled out in both instances.

The temporal relationship suggests corticosteroid injections as the likely cause.

Abstract

Acute interstitial pancreatitis is typically caused by gallstones and alcohol use. Less common causes include infection and drugs. Patients present with epigastric pain and often require pain medications and hospitalization depending on severity. We present a unique case of drug-induced pancreatitis likely caused by intra-articular corticosteroid injections on two separate occasions in the same patient. In both instances, other etiologies were ruled out. Given the temporal relationship between the intra-articular corticosteroid injection and presentation of pancreatitis, the corticosteroid injection was the likely etiology. This case suggests that intra-articular steroids should be included as an etiology of drug-induced pancreatitis.

Figures