Medications are the cause of acute pancreatitis in no more than 3% of cases. How ever it is something to look at if other causes have been excluded.
We don’t know how or why drug induced pancreatitis occurs. There are several thoughts.
Proposed mechanisms include metabolic effects, direct cellular toxicity, pancreatic duct constriction and an immune-mediated response. Pancreatitis may occur within a few weeks of starting a drug or after many months of drug therapy depending on the medication involved.
This bulletin also lists a number of drugs suspected of causing pancreatitis.
The bulletin (PDF) can be downloaded here
The 2009 RGH E-Bulletins are archived here.
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