Medical Term for Increased Bilirubin
The medical term for increased bilirubin is hyperbilirubinemia. 1
Understanding the Terminology
Hyperbilirubinemia is the universal medical term used to describe elevated bilirubin levels in the blood, regardless of the underlying cause 1, 2
The term applies to both unconjugated (indirect) and conjugated (direct) forms of bilirubin elevation 2, 3
Context in Acute Pancreatitis
When hyperbilirubinemia occurs specifically in patients with acute pancreatitis, it represents a common finding that occurs in approximately 14% of cases 4:
Extrahepatic obstruction accounts for 22% of hyperbilirubinemia cases in pancreatitis patients 4
Hepatocellular disease accounts for 31% of cases 4
Idiopathic causes (including transient periductular pancreatic edema) account for 47% of cases 4
Important Clinical Considerations in Pancreatitis
Normal liver function tests do not exclude a biliary etiology—approximately 10-15% of patients with acute biliary pancreatitis present with completely normal bilirubin, AST, ALT, and alkaline phosphatase levels 5
Elevated bilirubin (>1.6 mg/dL) has limited predictive value for gallstones in acute pancreatitis, with only about 40% of gallstone pancreatitis cases showing elevated bilirubin 6
Transient hyperbilirubinemia lasting less than 10 days is common in pancreatitis and may be due to temporary periductular edema 4
If hyperbilirubinemia persists beyond 10 days in pancreatitis patients, liver biopsy should be performed to evaluate for hepatocellular disease, followed by cholangiography if obstruction is suspected 4