Summary

Acute pancreatitis is a well-recognised complication of endoscopic procedures like endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography but not oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD). I report a case of a 33-year-old woman, admitted with severe epigastric pain and vomiting 2 hours after an elective OGD for evaluation of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms. Pancreatitis was diagnosed on the basis of elevated lipase (40 790 U/L; normal 11–82) and findings on imaging studies. Other common causes of acute pancreatitis such as gallstones, alcohol and medications were ruled out. She had an extended hospital course because of severe disease, characterised by systemic inflammatory response syndrome, pleural effusion and ascites but was successfully managed conservatively with bowel rest, hydration and pain management. Acute pancreatitis should be considered a rare complication of OGD and should be considered in differential diagnosis for abdominal pain post OGD. Pathogenesis is likely from direct trauma to pancreas or gas insufflation.