Chronic calcific pancreatitis: clinical profile in northern India

Assessment of pain associated with chronic pancreatitis: An international consensus guideline

Pain is the most common symptom in chronic pancreatitis (CP) with a major impact on quality of life. Few validated questionnaires to assess pain in CP exist, and the lack of consensus negatively impacts clinical management, research and meta-analysis. This guideline aims to review generic pain questionnaires for their usability in CP, to outline how pain assessment can be modified by confounding factors and pain types, to assess the value of additional measures such as quality of life, mental health and quantitative sensory testing, and finally to review pain assessment questionnaires used specifically in CP. A systematic review was done to answer 27 questions that followed the PICO (Population; Intervention; Comparator; Outcome) template. Quality of evidence of the statements was judged by Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. The manuscript was sent for review to 36 experts from various disciplines and continents in a multi-stage Delphi process, and finally reviewed by patient representatives. Main findings were that generic pain instruments are valid in most settings, but aspects of pain are specific for CP (including in children), and instruments have to account for the wide phenotypic variability and development of sensitization of the central nervous system. Side effects to treatment and placebo effects shall also be considered. Some multidimensional questionnaires are validated for CP and are recommended together with assessment of quality of life and psychiatric co-morbidities. This guideline will result in more homogeneous and comprehensive pain assessment to potentially improve management of painful CP.

Sickle Cell Trait Presenting as Chronic Calcific Pancreatitis with Pseudocyst- A Case Report

Sickle cell disease is known to cause acute pancreatitis either due to gall stones obstructing the pancreatic duct or by vaso-occlusive mechanism. However chronic pancreatitis is a very rare complication in sickle cell anemia. We report a case of sickle cell trait presenting with chronic pancreatitis with pseudo cyst. USG abdomen and CT abdomen confirmed the diagnosis of chronic calcific pancreatitis with pseudocyst. Etiological work up for other causes did not reveal anything except sickle cell trait. This case represents a rare association between chronic calcific pancreatitis and sickle cell trait.

Chronic pancreatitis in Eastern India: Experience from a tertiary care center

There is a wide variation in the clinical presentation of chronic pancreatitis (CP) in the different parts of India. Data regarding the clinical profile of CP from eastern India are scarce. We describe the clinical and demographic profiles of patients with CP in eastern India. Consecutive patients were evaluated for the clinical presentation, etiology and complication of CP. One hundred and thirty-nine patients with CP (mean age 39.57±14.88 years; M/F 3.48:1) were included. Idiopathic CP (50.35%) was the most common etiology followed by alcohol (33.81%); 68.34% had calcific CP and 31.65% had noncalcific CP. The median duration of symptoms was 24 (1-240) months. Pain was the most common symptom, being present in 93.52% of the patients. Diabetes, steatorrhea and pseudocyst were present in 45.32%, 14.38% and 7.19% of the cases, respectively. Moderate to severe anemia was revealed in 16.53% of the patients. Benign biliary stricture was diagnosed in 19.42% of the cases (symptomatic in 6.47%). The common radiological findings were the following: pancreatic calculi (68.34%), dilated pancreatic duct (PD) (58.99%), parenchymal atrophy (25.89%) and PD stricture (23.74%). In our center, idiopathic CP followed by alcoholic CP was the most frequent form of CP. Tropical CP was distinctly uncommon.

Pain assessment in chronic pancreatitis: A comparative review of methods

BACKGROUND

Patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) frequently report chronic abdominal pain that adversely impacts their quality of life. Assessment of pain in CP is required for clinical management and clinical studies. International consensus guidelines recognized a lack of specific and validated pain assessment tools for CP. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to identify and compare all clinical studies that assessed pain in the context of a treatment for pain in CP.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library and Ovid MEDLINE. The search identified all intervention studies for pain in CP and the pain assessment tools used based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria.

RESULTS

Of 341 articles identified, 137 studies were included. Pain assessment tools were both general and CP-specific. The latter were used in only 22 (16%) studies. Despite recommendations the aspects of pain assessed were limited and variable between tools. Validation of these tools in CP patients was limited to quality of life measures. None of the pain assessment tools evaluated duration of pain and postprandial pain.

CONCLUSIONS

There are no published pain assessment tools for CP that includes all relevant aspects of pain. There is the need to develop a comprehensive and validated pain assessment tool for patients with CP to standardised pain assessment, identify likely underlying pain mechanisms, help select appropriate treatments, report outcomes from interventions, improve clinical communication and aid the allocation of patients to clinical trials.

Clinical profile of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis in North India

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Tropical pancreatitis, a form of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) with unique features, has been described in South and North India. We investigated the clinical profile of ICP patients in North India.

METHODS

Detailed demographic data were recorded; hematological and biochemical analyses were performed on samples from 155 patients (mostly from North India) who had been diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. Ultrasonography and computed tomography were performed on all patients. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, glucose tolerance tests, and fecal fat studies were performed on some patients. Patients were divided into groups based on early- or late-onset ICP (before or after 35 years of age).

RESULTS

ICP was reported in 41.3% of patients and alcoholic chronic pancreatitis in 38.1%. The mean age of ICP patients was 33.0 +/- 13.0 years and the mean duration of symptoms at the time of presentation was 40.2 +/- 34.4 months. Pain was the dominant symptom in patients with early- (95.1%) and late-onset (100%) ICP; pseudocyst was the most common local complication. Diabetes was observed in 17.1% of patients with early-onset ICP and 34.8% with late-onset ICP. Pancreatic calcification was noted in 46.3% of patients with early-onset and 47.8% with late-onset ICP. Pseudocyst and segmental portal hypertension occurred more frequently in non-calcific ICP, whereas diabetes mellitus and abnormal fecal fat excretion occurred more frequently in patients with calcific ICP.

CONCLUSIONS

In North India, ICP differs from the classical tropical pancreatitis described in the literature. It is associated with a higher prevalence of pain and lower frequencies of diabetes, calcification, and intraductal calculi.

Multiple main pancreatic duct stones in tropical pancreatitis: safe clearance with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) has an established role in the management of pancreatic ductal stones. Its efficacy in management of multiple stones in tropical pancreatitis is unknown. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate: (i) the efficacy of main pancreatic duct stone clearance; and (ii) associated complications with ESWL therapy in tropical pancreatitis.

METHODS

Consecutively recruited patients with tropical pancreatitis underwent fragmentation of main pancreatic duct stones using ESWL. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) using standard techniques was performed to manage residual stones. Complete, partial and unsatisfactory clearance was defined as >90%, 50-90% and <50% of stone clearance, respectively. Clinical and technical data were collected on a pre-formatted data sheet. Statistical analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis.

RESULTS

A total of 250 patients (mean+/-SD age 35.2+/-11.9 years; 66% men), 86.8% with multiple radio-opaque stones, underwent ESWL between February 2004 and May 2005. Of the 250 patients, 149 (59.6%) achieved complete clearance and 59 (23.6%) achieved partial clearance of pancreatic calculi. Main pancreatic ductal decompression was achieved in 70.0% (175/250) of patients. Complications occurred in 5.6% (14/250) during ESWL and in 1.2% (3/250) during ERCP. A mean of 1.3 sessions, with mean+/-SD 5.5+/-0.7 intensity setting, 85.8+/-13.5 pulses per minute and 3862+/-1426 shocks per session were required.

CONCLUSION

Clearance of multiple main pancreatic duct stones in patients with tropical pancreatitis is safely performed via ESWL followed by ERCP ductal drainage.

The effect of the modified puestow procedure on diabetes in patients with tropical chronic pancreatitis--a prospective study

OBJECTIVES

Surgical decompression of the pancreatic duct in patients with chronic pancreatitis relieves pain in 80-90% of subjects, but its effect on exocrine and endocrine pancreatic function is not clear. We sought to further examine such effects.

METHODS

We performed the modified Puestow procedure (lateral pancreaticojejunostomy) in 53 patients with chronic tropical pancreatitis. Pain evaluation was done subjectively and objectively, and the fasting and postprandial blood glucose, insulin requirements, and 72-h fecal fat levels were estimated before and at 3 months and 5 yr after operation. We compared 46 operated patients who completed 5 yr of follow-up with 40 patients who did not undergo operation.

RESULTS

Forty-one patients (89%) had complete pain relief. The mean fasting (209 mg/dl) and postprandial (320 mg/dl) blood glucose and insulin requirements (40 U/day) decreased postoperatively (fasting, 162 mg/dl; postprandial blood glucose, 254mg/dl; insulin requirement, 18.2 U/day; p < 0.01), and steatorrhea improved in one of six patients. In the nonoperated group, endocrine and exocrine pancreatic function remained unchanged.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with tropical chronic pancreatitis who undergo the Puestow procedure not only have relief from pain but also improvement of diabetes.

Tropical calcific pancreatitis

Tropical calcific pancreatitis is a special type of chronic pancreatitis that has features quite different from those of alcoholic pancreatitis and is seen almost exclusively in tropical countries. It is characterized by recurrent severe pain in the abdomen, insulin-requiring but ketosis-resistant diabetes and large pancreatic calculi in malnourished male adolescents. The clinical course of tropical calcific pancreatitis is protracted with malnutrition, recurrent infections and poorly controlled diabetes. Pancreatic cancer may complicate the natural course in up to 10% of cases. However, in the community a much milder form of the disease occurs with a female preponderance and a prevalence of 0.13% or one in 793. Malnutrition with deficiency of proteins and micronutrients with antioxidant properties and food-based toxins, such as cassava, which contain cyanogenic glycosides have been suspected as possible aetiological factors. Impaired immune response, a presumed infection (possibly viral) and genetic susceptibility are some of the other factors suspected in the aetiopathogenesis of this disease. Besides controlling diabetes with insulin, relief from pain is obtained by the administration of analgesics and pancreatic enzymes and, in severe cases, by performing endoscopic or surgical decompression of dilated pancreatic ducts with removal of pancreatic calculi.

Prevalence and clinical features of chronic pancreatitis in southern India

We have conducted a field study in India in the state of Kerala involving 28,567 inhabitants to determine the prevalence and clinical features of chronic pancreatitis of the tropics (CPT), an illness that is endemic in several regions of India. Selection criteria for the present study included: 1. Characteristic abdominal pain; 2. Evidence of diabetes mellitus; and 3. Evidence of malnutrition/malabsorption. A diagnosis of chronic calcific pancreatitis (CCP) was established by evidence of either 1, 2, or 3 plus X-ray evidence of pancreatic calculi. Diagnosis of noncalcifying chronic pancreatitis (NCCP) was established by 1, 2, or 3 plus an abnormal ultrasound of the pancreas and an abnormal bentiromide test. CPT was discovered among 36 individuals (prevalence 1:793). Strict entry criteria may have excluded additional cases. CPT was far advanced at the time of diagnosis in that 28 had evidence of calcification, 19 had diabetes mellitus, and 27 had an abnormal bentiromide test. The major differences from previous hospital-based studies were female predominance (male/female ratio, 1:1.8), onset of disease at an older age (mean 23.9 yr), and evidence of milder disease. We conclude that previous hospital-based reports that CPT is a severe illness with a male predominance may reflect greater access of seriously ill individuals in general and males in particular to medical care.

Biliary peritonitis secondary to perforation of common bile duct: an unusual presentation of chronic calcific pancreatitis

Common bile duct perforation causing biliary peritonitis is an unusual entity and a pancreatic calculus causing this perforation is all the more rare, and to our knowledge has not been reported previously. Such an unusual presentation of chronic calcific pancreatitis is herein reported.

Management of recurrent pain following previous surgery for chronic pancreatitis

The management of any patient with recurrent pain following surgery for chronic pancreatitis is far from an easy problem. Even more careful assessment than that preceding the decision for the first operation will be necessary. In-hospital patient assessment is strongly recommended to ascertain the degree of the problem of pain in as objective a manner as possible. The effects of alcohol withdrawal and different analgesic treatments have to be carefully assessed while obtaining essential information on the size and shape of the pancreatic duct as well as the general pancreatic morphology. Relatively simple procedures such as the removal of stones or the enlargement of a strictured anastomosis may be all that is required to ensure freedom from pain; however, there is a tendency for patients who have no obvious new pathology or simple failure of the first operation to move to more extensive resectional procedures. This, ultimately will lead to total pancreatectomy being recommended and long-term follow-up of such patients is under critical scrutiny. Unless the highest caliber of support services can be mustered for these patients subject to total pancreatectomy, the morbidity and mortality in the longer term can reach prohibitive levels. A plea is made for objective reassessment of the place of celiac ganglionectomy in the management of these difficult problems.