Pancreatitis in a patient with AIDS

The pancreas in AIDS

Although autopsy studies reveal significant pancreatic lesions in about 10% of AIDS patients, pancreatic lesions infrequently produce symptoms and are rarely recognized premortem. Patients with AIDS can develop pancreatic disease from causes not related to AIDS or AIDS-specific lesions. AIDS-specific causes include opportunistic infection, AIDS-associated neoplasia, and medications used to treat complications of AIDS. Pancreatic involvement is usually part of a widely disseminated tumor and rarely produces clinical symptoms.