Trends, disparities, and outcomes of drug-induced pancreatitis in the United States: A nationwide analysis (2016-2020).

Background: Drug-induced pancreatitis (DIP) is an underreported etiology of acute pancreatitis. DIP risk and prevalence has increased over the years with polypharmacy. Data on affected patients in the U.S. remain limited. We aim to assess disparities and outcomes in DIP hospitalizations.

Methods: Retrospective study including adults diagnosed with DIP using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database (2016-2020). The primary outcomes were inpatient mortality, and complications. Secondary outcomes included resource utilization metrics. Descriptive statistics, linear regression, and logistic regression were performed using SAS 9.4.

Results: 5666 patients (mean age: 56.5 years; females 53.6 %) were included. Common comorbidities were hypertension (61.3 %), hyperlipidemia (42.3 %), and diabetes (22.9 %). The mortality rate was 1.5 %, with acute kidney injury (20.6 %), Sepsis (5.0 %), ileus (3.5 %) the common complications. The Mean LOS was 5.5 days, and the mean hospital charges were $60,811.20. Compared to White, Hispanics had significant odds of DIP admission (aOR: 1.11, 95 % CI: 1.01-1.21, p = 0.03) and increased risk of cardiac arrest (aOR 4.34, 95 % CI 1.17-15.35, p = 0.02). Black patients had significantly higher odds of severe DIP (aOR 1.26, 95 % CI 1.02-1.56, p = 0.03) and acute kidney injury (aOR 1.29, 95 % CI 1.04-1.61, p = 0.02), while Asian were more likely to develop sepsis (aOR 2.10, 95 % CI 1.07-3.83, p = 0.02), had higher hospital charges (+$42,008, p = 0.039) and longer LOS (+2.5 days, p < 0.01)..

Conclusion: There are significant racial disparities among patients and a substantial economic burden on healthcare systems. Multifaceted strategies and research into genetic and socioeconomic predispositions are needed to address DIP.