On August 23, 2020, doctors at Vinmec Nha Trang Hospital performed the first plasma exchange (PE) for a patient with acute pancreatitis. Despite the fact that the patient had acute pancreatitis, severe necrosis, complications of intestinal paralysis, intestinal obstruction, and splenic vein thrombosis, among other severe symptoms, thanks to timely treatment, the patient was discharged after 2 weeks and has since recovered fully.
On the evening of August 22, 2020, Mr. An Van Sinh, 50 years old from Phuoc Hoa ward, Nha Trang city, went to the emergency room at Vinmec Nha Trang as he experienced acute abdominal pain. Before that, he had drunk alcohol, and the next day, he started having stomach pain along with vomiting. Mr. Sinh was diagnosed with severe acute pancreatitis. This is a disease with a very high mortality rate of 25-50%. One in four people with acute pancreatitis dies, oftentimes because of multiple organ failures and infections.
After examining, doctors at Vinmec Nha Trang diagnosed the patient with severe necrotizing pancreatitis, complications of intestinal paralysis, intestinal obstruction, and thrombosis of the splenic vein. So far, Vinmec Nha Trang Hospital had performed emergency treatment for cases of various acute pancreatitis diseases, most of which were done with medical treatment. In this case, as the patient was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis caused by elevated triglycerides with an indication for plasma exchange, the doctors decided to carry out plasma exchange on the patient.
After intensive analgesia and fluid resuscitation at the Emergency Department, the patient continued to be treated in the Intensive Care Unit with the following methods: plasma exchange, use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, nutritional supplements, electrolyte water, and pain alleviation. Plasma exchange is a difficult high-tech technique. However, thanks to careful preparation and close coordination between specialties, the plasma exchange process went smoothly. After 16 days, the patient was discharged from the hospital and has completely recovered now.
With early diagnosis of the patient's severe condition, a right treatment regimen, appropriate plasma exchange, synchronous emergency, and resuscitation, doctors at Vinmec Nha Trang successfully treated this severe case. Acute pancreatitis has many causes such as alcohol, hypertriglyceridemia, obstructive liver stones, autoimmune diseases, and trauma, while about 10-15% of acute pancreatitis cases have no cause. Doctors at Vinmec Nha Trang also mentioned that acute pancreatitis has a high mortality rate and cannot be prevented. Therefore, as soon as abnormal symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, and other abnormal digestive problems start to appear, patients need to receive immediate medical attention to prevent their conditions from developing into serious cases.
After successful plasma exchange for acute pancreatitis, doctors Vinmec Nha Trang can perform plasma exchange indicated for other diseases such as autoimmune diseases.
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