Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 Interstitial Pneumonia Exhibit Pancreatic Hyperenzymemia and Not Acute Pancreatitis

Objectives Gastrointestinal manifestations of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) have been well established, but pancreatic involvement is under debate. Our aims were to evaluate the presence of acute pancreatitis in COVID-19 patients and to assess the frequency of pancreatic hyperenzymemia. Methods From April 1, 2020, to April 30, 2020, 110 consecutive patients (69 males, 41 females; mean age, 63.0 years; range, 24-93 years) met these criteria and were enrolled in the study. The clinical data and serum activity of pancreatic amylase and lipase were assayed in all patients using commercially available kits. Results None of the patients studied developed clinical signs or morphological alterations compatible with acute pancreatitis. However, it was found that 24.5% of the patients had amylase values above 53 IU/L and 16.4% had lipase values above 300 IU/L. Only 1 patient (0.9%) had both amylase and lipase values in excess of 3-fold the upper normal limit without clinical signs of pancreatitis. Conclusions The presence of pancreatic hyperenzymemia in a patient with COVID-19 requires the management of these patients be guided by clinical evaluation and not merely by evaluation of the biochemical results.