Acute pancreatitis as initial manifestation of adult Henoch-Schönlein purpura: report of a case and review of literature.

Abdominal pain observed in Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) is usually attributed to edema and hemorrhage in the small bowel wall, secondary to a small-vessel vasculitis. Pancreatitis secondary to HSP is extremely rare. Here we report a 53-year-old man presented with acute pancreatitis that developed into characteristic rashes seen during HSP at the second day of the clinical onset, together with arthritis and glomerulonephritis.