Chronic pancreatitis is a progressive disease without curative treatment. Abdominal pain is the most predominant symptom of chronic pancreatitis that initially brings most of the patients to the physician's attention. Some studies have correlated the course of pain in chronic pancreatitis in comparison with the duration of the disease, progressing exocrine and endocrine pancreatic insufficiency, and morphological changes such as pancreatic calcification and duct abnormalities. Furthermore, the course of pain has been studied after alcohol abstinence or surgery in some groups. However, there are only few well-performed and valid studies, and some of them even have produced diversing results, in part. Further controlled studies harvoring a large number of patients in a multicenter setting should be considered. Therapeutic efforts on chronic pancreatitis have focused on palliative treatment of pain which is present in about 80% of cases. Endoscopic treatment of pain in chronic pancreatitis is useful and feasible in many patients. Selecting candidate for endotherapy is mandatory. Main indication of pancreatic stent insertion in chronic pancreatitis is the presence of an obvious ductal stricture. Complications of chronic pancreatitis are also indications of endoscopic intervention. Exocrine and endocrine insufficiencies should be meticulously managed to prevent complications and to maintain good quality of life.
English Abstract ; Humans ; Pancreatitis, Chronic/*diagnosis/*therapy

Eosinophilic pancreatitis is a rare disorder that may only be diagnosed after pancreatic resection under the suspection of a pancreatic tumor. We experienced a 65-year-old female patient whose initial presentation suggested pancreatic cancer. Radiologic evaluation revealed a pancreatic mass-like lesion which was obstructing the main pancreatic duct. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) showed double duct strictures involving the distal common bile duct and the main pancreatic duct. Serum IgE level was elevated. Percutaneous core needle biopsy with an 18-gauge needle was performed targeting the pancreatic lesion. The biopsy specimen revealed fibrotic interlobular septum and intralobular fibrosis with prominent eosinophilic infiltration. The patient was treated with oral prednisolone (40 mg/day). A plastic stent was inserted into the narrowed common bile duct. After three months of oral steroid therapy, symptoms and signs improved rapidly and serum IgE level was decreased. Abdominal computed tomography and ERCP revealed remission of pancreatic mass-like lesion.
Aged ; Eosinophilia/*diagnosis/therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Pancreatitis/*diagnosis/therapy

Humans ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

Critical Illness ; Humans ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing ; diagnosis ; surgery ; therapy

Compartment Syndromes ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing ; complications

China ; Humans ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

No abstract available.
Autoimmune Diseases/*diagnosis/therapy ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Pancreatitis, Chronic/*diagnosis/pathology/therapy

No abstract available.
Autoimmune Diseases/*diagnosis/therapy ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Pancreatitis, Chronic/*diagnosis/pathology/therapy

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP),a special type of chronic pancreatitis,is autoimmune-mediated and can be accompanied by swelling of the pancreas and irregular stenosis of the pancreatic duct. The main pathological features are fibrosis of pancreatic duct with IgG4-positive lymphoplasmacytic infiltration. Different typing methods of AIP can have differerent disease conditions. This paper reviews the history,clinical presentation,diagnostic criteria,and treatment of different AIP types to provide a new basis for the diagnosis and treatment.
Autoimmune Diseases ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; Pancreas ; physiopathology ; Pancreatitis ; diagnosis ; therapy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Infection of pancreatic necrosis is one of the leading cause of death in patients with severe necrotizing pancreatits. Because of high mortality rate up to 50%, immediate surgical debridement including pancreatectomy is recommended. However, early surgical treatment still showed high mortality rate and better treatment strategy is required. This study was conducted to evaluate the outcomes of early intensive non-surgical treatments in patients with infected necrotizing pancreatitis. METHODS: This study was based on retrospective analysis of 71 patients with acute severe necrotizing pancreatitis (APACHE II score>or=8, or Ranson's score>or=3, and pancreatic necrosis on CT scan), who were admitted to medical center during past 16 years. Infection of pancreatic necrosis was confirmed by fine needle aspiration, and early intensive medical treatments comprised of prophylactic antibiotics coverage, fluid resuscitation, organ preserving supportive measures, and percutaneous catheter drainage were carried out. RESULTS: Among the enrolled patients, infections were suspected in 46 patients, but fine needle aspirations were done only in 32 patients. In 21 patients, infections of necrotic tissue were confirmed by bacteriology, while other 11 patients showed no evidence of bacterial growth. Of 21 patients with infected necrosis, initial surgical interventions were performed in 2 patients, while initial medical treatments were performed in 19 patients. The success rate of medical treatment group in infected necrotizing pancreatitis was 79% (15/19). The mortality rate of medical treatment group and surgical treatment group was 5% (1/19) and 50% (1/2). CONCLUSIONS: Early intensive medical treatment seems to be a good therapeutic strategy, even if the infection has developed in pancreatic necrosis. Further prospective randomized studies are required to confirm this finding.
Bacterial Infections/diagnosis/*prevention & control ; Humans ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing/complications/diagnosis/*therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome