Pancreatitis after percutaneous ethanol injection into HCC: a minireview of the literature

Deaths after percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) into hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may occurwithin a few hours to a few days following the procedure because of hemoperitoneum andhaemorrhage from oesophageal varices or hepatic insufficiency. Pancreatitis has been recentlyreported as a rare lethal complication of intra-arterial PEI, another modality for treating HCCs. Inthis minireview, we analyze the literature concerning the development of acute pancreatitis afterPEI. Pathogenesis of pancreatitis from opioids and ethanol is also addressed. Treatment withopioids to reduce the patient's abdominal pain after PEI in combination with the PEI itself may leadto direct toxic effects, thus favouring the development of pancreatitis.