Summary

Hypertriglyceridaemia is the third most common cause of acute pancreatitis in the USA. The treatment approach for hypertriglyceridaemia to date has largely been conservative including weight loss, exercise and avoidance of medications that raise triglyceride levels. This approach, however, is not practical in cases of acute pancreatitis due to severely elevated triglycerides. A small number of case reports have been published supporting the treatment of acute pancreatitis due to severely elevated triglyceride levels with insulin and heparin. We report a case of acute pancreatitis in a young woman due to a triglyceride level of 15 215 mg/dl who was successfully treated with insulin and heparin.