Skip to main content
NCBI home page
British Medical Journal logoLink to British Medical Journal
. 1973 Jul 21;3(5872):128–131. doi: 10.1136/bmj.3.5872.128

Significance of Hyperamylasaemia and Abdominal Pain in Diabetic Ketoacidosis

A H Knight, D N Williams, G Ellis, D M Goldberg
PMCID: PMC1586360  PMID: 4198367

Abstract

An analysis of 35 consecutive episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis confirmed the frequent high levels of serum amylase in this condition. Serum amylase was raised during 21 episodes (60%), and in six instances (17%) the peak level exceeded 1,000 Somogyi units per 100 ml. Hyperamylasaemia was more often found when the initial blood sugar exceeded 500 mg/100 ml, or when the onset of the episode had been relatively acute (less than 48 hours). There was no conclusive evidence in any patient to support a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis and other explanations for the hyperamylasaemia are discussed. Even grossly raised amylase levels were not associated with increased mortality or morbidity.

Full text

PDF
128

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BENNETT I. L., Jr, CARY F. H., MITCHELL G. L., Jr, COOPER M. N. Acute methyl alcohol poisoning: a review based on experiences in an outbreak of 323 cases. Medicine (Baltimore) 1953 Dec;32(4):431–463. doi: 10.1097/00005792-195312000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BERRYMAN D. B., GEORGE W. H. The evaluation of serum amylase levels in nonpancreatic disease. Arch Surg. 1960 Mar;80:482–485. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.1960.01290200126022. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BOSSAK E. T., JOELSON R. H. Acute pancreatitis complicating diabetes mellitus. AMA Arch Intern Med. 1956 Feb;97(2):201–207. doi: 10.1001/archinte.1956.00250200077007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ceska M., Birath K., Brown B. A new and rapid method for the clinical determination of alpha-amylase activities in human serum and urine. Optimal conditions. Clin Chim Acta. 1969 Dec;26(3):437–444. doi: 10.1016/0009-8981(69)90071-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fridhandler L., Berk J. E., Ueda M. Macroamylasemia: rapid detection method. Clin Chem. 1971 May;17(5):423–426. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. HUGHES P. D. Diabetic acidosis with acute pancreatitis. Br J Surg. 1961 Jul;49:90–91. doi: 10.1002/bjs.18004921320. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. JANOWITZ H. D., DREILING D. A. The plasma amylase. Source, regulation and diagnostic significance. Am J Med. 1959 Dec;27:924–935. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(59)90176-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. McGEACHIN R. L., GLEASON J. R., ADAMS M. R. Amylase distribution in extrapancreatic, extrasalivary tissues. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1958 Jun;75(2):403–411. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(58)90439-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. POLLOCK A. V. Acute pancreatitis; analysis of 100 patients. Br Med J. 1959 Jan 3;1(5113):6–14. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5113.6. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Rajasingham R., Bell J. L., Baron D. N. A comparative study of the isoenzymes of mammalian alpha-amylase. Enzyme. 1971;12(2):180–186. doi: 10.1159/000459530. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Shihabi Z. K., Bishop C. Simplified turbidimetric assay for lipase activity. Clin Chem. 1971 Dec;17(12):1150–1153. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. TULLY G. T., LOWENTHAL J. J. The diabetic coma of acute pancreatitis. Ann Intern Med. 1958 Feb;48(2):310–319. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-48-2-310. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Tranquada R. E., Grant W. J., Peterson C. R. Lactic acidosis. Arch Intern Med. 1966 Feb;117(2):192–202. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Medical Journal are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES