Abstract: Objective To analyse and summarize the clinical characteristics of hyperlipidemic pancreatitis.Methods A retrospective research was carried out to compare clinical characteristics on 979 patients which admitted to Xuanwu hospital from Jan. 1988 to Dec. 2004. 613 patients had acute gallstone pancreatitis, 90 patients had hyperlipidemic pancreatitis.Results The levels of blood and urine amylase in HLP was lower than that of acute gallstone pancreatitis. HLP had higher incidence of circulation failure, respiration failure, kidney failure and lung infection.Conclusion In the diagnosis of HLP, it should be noticed that the elevation of blood and urine amylase is not frequently remarkable. In the course of HLP'therapy, it is important to prevent and treat multi-organ failure and lung infection.

Key words: hyperlipidemic pancreatitis, clinical characteristics