Ashcroft Hospitalized for Pancreatitis
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By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The first 48 hours are key to determining how treatment will proceed for Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites), who was in a hospital intensive care unit suffering from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis.
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The serious and painful abdominal illness often clears up after a week or so of treatment but sometimes requires surgery and, in extreme cases, can kill.
Doctors at George Washington University Hospital said Friday they needed more time to evaluate Ashcroft and determine a prognosis for their 61-year-old patient, who was admitted to the hospital Thursday night.
Ashcroft, a former Missouri governor and senator, was being treated initially with antibiotics and painkillers, officials said.
President Bush (news - web sites) spoke briefly with Ashcroft by telephone Friday afternoon, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Under Justice Department (news - web sites) rules, Deputy Attorney General James Comey is authorized to exercise "all power and authority" of the attorney general. No transfer of power is necessary.
Ashcroft initially thought his sudden sickness was a stomach flu but began feeling so ill by Thursday afternoon that he canceled an appearance at a news conference where he was to announce terrorist convictions.
After returning to his Capitol Hill home, his condition worsened and he was examined by Dr. Daniel Parks, the White House physician, said Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo. Parks advised Ashcroft to go to an emergency room, and the attorney general was taken to the hospital Thursday evening.
"After a full medical workup in the emergency room, it was determined that he was suffering from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis," Corallo said.
Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas, a gland that secretes digestive enzymes and insulin. The two main causes are alcohol abuse and, as in Ashcroft's case, a gallstone blocking the passage from the pancreas to the beginning of the small intestine. It also can be caused by infection, injury or certain medications.
Symptoms include sudden, severe abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and fever.
Dr. John Baillie, a gastroenterologist and professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center, said people with severe pancreatitis often stay in the hospital for a month or longer. He said there is a 10 percent to 20 percent risk of death.
Baillie explained that pancreatitis is "like a hand grenade going off, an explosion in the abdomen" that essentially shuts down the digestive system and causes a sharp internal buildup in fluids.
Treatment involves fasting, to allow the pancreas to rest by reducing its secretions, as well as antibiotics and painkillers.
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Associated Press Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this story.
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On the Net:
National Institutes of Health (news - web sites):
http://www.nih.gov George Washington University Hospital:
http://gwhospital.com Justice Department:
http://www.usdoj.gov
