Groove pancreatitis is a rare form of chronic pancreatitis that affects the groove area adjacent to the second part of the duodenum. Clinical and biochemical features often overlap with other subsets of chronic pancreatitis, while the imaging features resemble that of carcinoma of the head of pancreas. We present a 38-year-old man with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and loss of weight who underwent ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT to rule out a pancreatic malignancy. PET/CT imaging features of groove pancreatitis are distinct from the other subsets of chronic pancreatitis, such as alcoholic and autoimmune pancreatitis, and helpful in the diagnosis and planning further management of the patient.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Alcoholics ; Diagnosis ; Duodenum ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Head ; Humans ; Nausea ; Pancreas ; Pancreatitis ; Pancreatitis, Chronic ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Vomiting

Groove pancreatitis is a rare form of chronic pancreatitis that affects the groove area adjacent to the second part of the duodenum. Clinical and biochemical features often overlap with other subsets of chronic pancreatitis, while the imaging features resemble that of carcinoma of the head of pancreas. We present a 38-year-old man with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and loss of weight who underwent ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT to rule out a pancreatic malignancy. PET/CT imaging features of groove pancreatitis are distinct from the other subsets of chronic pancreatitis, such as alcoholic and autoimmune pancreatitis, and helpful in the diagnosis and planning further management of the patient.