Pancreatitis associated with thiazide administration. A role for the parathyroid glands?
J. Pickleman, F. H. Straus 2nd and E. Paloyan
Twenty-one of a total of 72 patients with acute pancreatitis admitted to a
university hospital over a three-year period were found to have
"idiopathic" pancreatitis. Of these, six nonalcoholic patients without
gallbladder disease were receiving one of the thiazide diuretics prior to
the onset of pancreatitis. Three patients taken from an earlier series
likewise had pancreatitis associated with thiazide administration and at
the time of autopsy harbored parathyroid hyperplasia. It is suggested that
both the parathyroids and the pancreas may be affected by thiazide
administration, and that a history of ingestion of these drugs should be
sought in patients who have idiopathic pancreatitis.