Korean autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) criteria 2007 was aimed to diagnose the wide spectrum of AIP with high sensitivity. The most crucial issue when caring for patients with suspected AIP is to differentiate AIP from pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer can be distinguished from AIP by pancreatic imaging, measurement of serum IgG4 levels, endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration and trucut biopsy, and steroid trial. Autoimmune pancreatitis is a rare systemic fibroinflammatory disease which can affect not only the pancreas, but also a variety of organs such as the bile ducts, salivary glands, retroperitoneum, and lymph nodes. Organs affected by AIP have a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate rich in IgG4-positive cells. This inflammatory process responds dramatically to oral steroid therapy. Granulocytic epithelial lesion (GEL) positive AIP patients differ from GEL negative AIP patients in clinical features such as equal gender ratio, younger mean age, no increase in serum IgG4, no association with extrapancreatic involvement, no relapse, and frequent association with inflammatory bowel disease. Further investigation is needed to clarify the pathogenic mechanisms including more definite serological markers for theses two entities.
Autoimmune Diseases/*diagnosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Common Bile Duct/radiography ; Fibrosis/pathology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Pancreatitis/*diagnosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Salivary Glands/pathology

INTRODUCTIONEndoscopic transenteric stenting is the standard treatment for pseudocysts, but it may be inadequate for treating infected collections with solid debris. Surgical necrosectomy results in significant morbidity. Direct endoscopic necrosectomy (DEN), a minimally invasive treatment, may be a viable option. This study examined the efficacy and safety of DEN for the treatment of infected walled-off pancreatic necrosis and infected pseudocysts with solid debris.

METHODSThis study was a retrospective analysis of data collected from a prospective database of patients who underwent DEN in the presence of infected walled-off pancreatic necrosis or infected pseudocysts with solid debris from April 2007 to October 2011. DEN was performed as a staged procedure. Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided transgastric stenting was performed during the first session for initial drainage and to establish endoscopic access to the infected collection. In the second session, the drainage tract was dilated endoscopically to allow transgastric passage of an endoscope for endoscopic necrosectomy. Outcome data included technical success, clinical success and complication rates.

RESULTSEight patients with infected walled-off pancreatic necrosis or infected pseudocysts with solid debris (mean size 12.5 cm; range 7.8-17.2 cm) underwent DEN. Underlying aetiologies included severe acute pancreatitis (n = 6) and post-pancreatic surgery (n = 2). DEN was technically successful in all patients. Clinical resolution was achieved in seven patients. One patient with recurrent collection opted for surgery instead of repeat endotherapy. No procedural complications were encountered.

CONCLUSIONDEN is a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment for infected walled-off pancreatic necrosis and infected pseudocysts.

Adult ; Aged ; Cysts ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; Endoscopy ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Necrosis ; Pancreas ; pathology ; Pancreatic Diseases ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; therapy ; Singapore ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome ; Ultrasonography

IgG4-related systemic diseases are characterized by a diffuse or mass forming inflammatory reaction rich in lymphocytes and IgG4-positive plasma cells (lymphoplasmacytic infiltration), fibrosclerosis of variable organs and obliterative phlebitis. They usually involve various organs including the pancreas, bile duct, gallbladder, salivary gland, retroperitoneum, kidney, lung, and prostate. However, most of them are accompanied by autoimmune pancreatitis, and good response to steroid treatment is one of the hallmarks of this disease. We report a case of an 67-year-old man with IgG4 associated sclerosing cholangitis, who was diagnosed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and successfully treated with steroid therapy.
Aged ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/therapeutic use ; Autoimmune Diseases/complications/diagnosis ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/pathology/ultrasonography ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Cholangitis, Sclerosing/complications/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Common Bile Duct/pathology/ultrasonography ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/*blood ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Pancreatitis/complications/diagnosis ; Prednisolone/therapeutic use ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Pseudoaneurysm is a life-threatening complication of chronic or acute pancreatitis. This study was undertaken to evaluate the clinical features of pseudoaneurysm complicating pancreatitis. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 7 patients diagnosed as pseudoaneurysms with chronic pancreatitis in Korea University Guro and Anam Hospital from January 1995 to March 2006 and analyzed their demographics, clinical courses and outcomes. RESULTS: All patients were men and mean age was 54.6 years (range, 43-67 years). All the cases occurred in the setting of chronic alcoholic pancreatitis complicated by pseudocyst. Abdominal pain was the unique initial clinical symptom in 5 cases, hematemesis in 1 case, and simultaneous abdominal pain with hematemesis in 1 case. Bleeding into pseudocyst developed in 5 cases, flowing into duodenum through pancreatic duct in 1 case and rupture into the descending colon in 1 case. Mean duration between onset of symptom and diagnosis of pseudoaneurysm was 7.8 days (range, 1-23 days). Six cases were diagnosed by abdominal computed tomography disclosing characteristic finding of focal high density area in the pseudocyst. Pulsed doppler abdominal sonography was performed before computed tomography in 3 cases and results were negative in 2 cases. Transcatheter arterial embolizations were initially performed in 6 cases, and there was no recurrent bleeding except one case of splenic infarction. Distal pancreatectomy was initially performed in 1 case. CONCLUSIONS: Pseudoaneurysms complicating chronic pancreatitis shows various clinical features. Transcatheter arterial embolization can be recommended as a primary therapeutic modality.
Adult ; Aged ; Aneurysm, False/*diagnosis/etiology/ultrasonography ; Arteries/injuries ; Demography ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Hemorrhage/etiology/surgery ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Pseudocyst/etiology/surgery ; Pancreatitis, Alcoholic/*complications/pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Lung cancer metastases can occur in almost any organ. However, metastasis of small cell lung cancer to the pancreas is rare. Moreover, not all cases present with clinically diagnosed pancreatitis. We recently treated a patient with small cell lung carcinoma that invaded the pancreatic duct causing acute pancreatitis. Generally, the treatment for tumor-induced acute pancreatitis is initially supportive followed by aggressive chemotherapy or surgery. If the patient can tolerate the insertion of an endoscopic intrapancreatic stent, this is performed in addition to chemotherapy and surgery; this approach offers a safe and effective treatment modality for such patients.
Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; *Stents ; Prosthesis Implantation/*methods ; Pneumonectomy ; Pancreatitis/diagnosis/etiology/*surgery ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/*complications/secondary/therapy ; Pancreatic Ducts/radiography/*surgery/ultrasonography ; Middle Aged ; Lung Neoplasms/*pathology/therapy ; Humans ; Follow-Up Studies ; Female ; Endosonography ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Carcinoma, Small Cell/*complications/secondary/therapy ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use