July 1, 2022 – Travis Barker, drummer for rock band blink-182, was hospitalized this week in Los Angeles with pancreatitis.
Barker, 46, husband of movie star influencer Kourtney Kardashian, not too long ago had a colonoscopy to test for colon most cancers. Specialists have weighed in on how probably the hyperlink is between his colonoscopy and pancreatitis.
“It is attainable, however it’s uncommon,” says Timothy B. Gardner, MD, director of pancreatic issues at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Middle in Lebanon, NH.
“It is exceedingly uncommon,” agrees Vladimir M Kushnir, MD. “Colonoscopy is a particularly protected and lifesaving process.”
Severe issues from a colonoscopy occur effectively lower than 1 in 1,000 occasions, he says.
Solely 5 circumstances of pancreatitis after a colonoscopy have been reported in medical literature, Kushnir says, normally after very arduous procedures. “This isn’t one thing I’d ever fear about if I have been having a colonoscopy or a member of the family was having a colonoscopy,” says Kushnir, director of bariatric endoscopy at Washington College Faculty of Medication in St. Louis.
“I’ve completed 1000’s and 1000’s of colonoscopies, and I’ve by no means had a affected person develop pancreatitis,” Gardner says.
One factor stays unclear: how a lot time there was between Barker’s colonoscopy and his pancreatitis. Usually, the pancreas must develop into infected inside 24 to 48 hours to be associated, Gardner says.
Extra Frequent Causes
The pancreas is an enormous digestive gland that sits behind the abdomen. It could get infected for quite a lot of causes, however it’s most frequently associated to gallstone illness or extreme alcohol use.
When the pancreas will get infected, it could actually trigger stomach ache and nausea. “Typically, it will get higher in just a few days,” Kushnir says. “However in some uncommon circumstances, sufferers can get right into a critical inflammatory situation and it may be fairly extreme. Pancreatitis is definitely one of the crucial frequent gastrointestinal circumstances to require hospitalization.”
Gardner agrees that most individuals with pancreatitis get better inside just a few days. He additionally notes that some medicines and pancreatic most cancers may trigger pancreatitis.
Anatomy Lesson
One a part of the colon is known as the splenic flexure, which is on the left higher a part of the stomach that sits proper subsequent to the tail of the pancreas. “So they’re proper subsequent to one another,” Gardner says.
“So conceivably, if we’re doing a colonoscopy, the strain might trigger mechanical contact with that a part of the pancreas,” he says. However once more, it is very uncommon.
In accordance with a report in Individuals, Barker entered Cedars-Sinai Hospital on Tuesday with cramps, excessive abdomen ache, and problem strolling.
