Article Text
Abstract
Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is an irreversible fibroinflammatory disorder of the pancreas. It presents with relapsing, remitting upper abdominal pain accompanied by features of malabsorption due to pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and endocrine deficiency with the development of diabetes mellitus. The associated increased hospitalisation and high economic burden are related to CP often presenting at advanced stage with irreversible consequences. Diagnosing CP at an early stage is still challenging and therefore CP is believed to be under-reported. Our understanding of this disease has evolved over the last few years with attempts to redesign the definition of CP. Better recognition of the risk factors and conditions associated with CP can lead to an earlier diagnosis and coupled with a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, ultimately reduce complications. This article reviews the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnosis and management of CP.
- chronic pancreatitis
- exocrine pancreatic function
- pancreatic enzymes
- pancreatitis
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Footnotes
Contributors MJ: drafted the original article analysis and interpretation of data. JAC and ADH: interpretation of data and approved the final version of the article to be published.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.
Correction notice This article has been corrected since it published Online First. Box 1 and figure 1 legends have been updated.