It has been known that acute pancreatitis is often followed by cardiovascular problems, but it was not known how to predict and prevent these complications. This has been researched by Veronika Lillik, whose paper on this topic was recently accepted by a D1 journal. In recognition of her work, she was honored with the Excellent Student Award by the Centre for Translational Medicine.
Veronika Lillik is a fourth-year internal medicine resident at Fejér County Szent György University Teaching Hospital, Székesfehérvár, and a third-year Ph.D. student at CTM. After completing her internal medicine residency, she would like to become a gastroenterologist, as that is the field that interests her the most. In her research, she has been investigating the cardiac complications associated with acute pancreatitis. These phenomenona were highlighted in an article by Dóra Czapári in 2023. Dr. Lillik has already achieved important results related to these observations. These results are to be published in the D1 journal iScience soon. “Our meta-analysis has shown that special attention should be paid to patients with acute pancreatitis who have chronic heart failure in their medical history. In their case, mortality is definitely higher, so they need to be monitored more closely than usual. There are also patients with pancreatitis who are found to have heart problems during their hospital stay. Atrial fibrillation, for example, is significantly associated with higher mortality during acute pancreatitis. In patients with severe cases of acute pancreatitis striking signs are ECG abnormalities, especially repolarization and QTc interval abnormalities. We have discovered several minor cardiovascular abnormalities in scientific literature that occurred after acute pancreatitis, but we have not been able to compile statistics on these. For this reason, we have continued to collect data and have launched two new projects” she says.
Dr. Lillik’s next project will be a registry analysis in which she wants to clarify the cardiological history of patients who have had acute pancreatitis. It is also important to determine what cardiovascular problems they developed during their hospital stay. Once armed with this knowledge, they will examine patient mortality in hospitals and mortality within one year of returning home. For this research, they will use a large registry containing data on four to five thousand people. As a result of the research, it is expected that they will be able to determine which cardiovascular abnormalities require special attention after patients have recovered from acute pancreatitis.
“When we have this information, we will start our third project. This will be a prospective study in which we will monitor patients hospitalized with pancreatitis after their recovery. We will track the results of their ECG and echocardiogram tests as well as review their laboratory parameters. This research will provide the strongest conclusions. In light of these information, we will be able to make recommendations regarding the patient groups that need follow-up and the kind and frequency of cardiological check-ups they need after recovering from pancreatitis.” Dr. Lillik is not only participating in CTM’s program as a Ph.D. student, but also as a registry and clinical trial coordinator. In the future, she would be happy to join the training program as a supervisor.
(Szabó Emese)