Acute pancreatitis caused by methimazole/carbimazole assumption: a case-series.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed 525 different drugs, that can lead to acute pancreatitis cases, as a medication side-effect. Among them, methimazole (MMI also known as thiamazole, the active form of carbimazole [CBZ]) was included. We reported case reports of patients with overall features compatible with acute pancreatitis episodes following and presumably triggered by the exposure to MMI and its prodrug CBZ. A systematic search was performed on MEDLINE (PubMed). We included case reports of patients with overall features compatible with acute pancreatitis episodes following and presumably triggered by the exposure to MMI and its prodrug CBZ Data extraction and analysis were undertaken in duplicate. We identified 7 case reports. Most patients were female, and one patient was male. Mean age at baseline ranged from 18 to 80 years old. The average time, that elapses between the initiation of the therapy with MMI/CBZ and the onset of typical clinical signs and symptoms pathognomonic of acute pancreatitis, was 2-3 weeks. Based on the data derived from these case reports, it could be considered the possibility of a potential association between MMI/CBZ exposure. Evidence is, however, limited and requires more studies of high quality to confirm this association.