Drug-induced pancreatitis (lisinopril).

Medications are often overlooked as a potential cause of acute pancreatitis. In many cases we rely on postmarketing surveillance of new medications to characterize their adverse effect profile, which might include acute pancreatitis. Whereas estrogen-induced pancreatitis is relatively well-recognized, the association of pancreatitis with the newer agents such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (eg, lisinopril) and hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (eg, simvastatin) is less commonly recognized. We describe a case in which the temporal relation suggests lisinopril as the causative or exacerbating agent. As with alcohol-induced pancreatitis, drug-induced pancreatitis should improve with abstinence. Knowing which drugs are associated with inflammation of the pancreas will help family physicians to consider drug-induced causes in the setting of acute pancreatitis.