Pancreatic encephalopathy, a little-known complication of acute pancreatitis

A 62-year-old male presented with severe post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (post-ERCP) acute pancreatitis. He required admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) twice due to respiratory and renal failure and neurological deterioration. On the hospitalization ward, he presented a fluctuating alteration of the level of consciousness, with bradypsychia, disorientation and somnolence, which persisted after hemodynamic, metabolic and renal stabilization. A brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed showing focal lesions due to small vessel disease, some with cavitations due to necrosis, and mild to moderate subcortical atrophy. A diagnosis of pancreatic encephalopathy was made given the clinical and radiological findings. The patient recovered full cognitive capacity after one week with adequate nutrition supported by protein supplementation.