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A 78 year old lady was admitted in a drowsy state with a tender abdomen and
DKA.  She had been originally been treated elswhere and we were told her
amylase was 1800. On admission to us she was still in DKA and had an 
amylase of 710U/L (Vitros 750 ref range 40 - 110). Her DKA was treated
appropriately and succesfully and her amylase dropped over two days to
410U/L. On the third day the amylase started to rise, 528U/L and it was
noticed that her parotid glands had become hard and swollen. We cannot
decide if her high amylase levels were due to pancreatitis, DKA  or could
it be salivary? Does anyone know about or have the ability to differentiate
between salivary and pancreatitic amylase?

Paul Robinson
Royal Berkshire Hospital 
Reading 


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