Evaluation clinical and biochemical characteristics of patients with chronic pancreatitis

Abstract

Objective: Chronic pancreatitis is a chronic, progressive, irreversible benign inflammatory process, resulting in structural changes with disorders of functional exocrine and endocrine parenchyma by a fibrotic and inflammatory tissue. Based on clinical characteristics and morphology to diagnose chronic pancreatitis. This study was assessing the clinical, biochemical characteristics of chronic pancreatitis patients; and evaluating the relationship between grade chronic pancreatitis and clinical, biochemical characteristics. Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 51 patients with chronic pancreatitis diagnosed based on Rosemont Criteria in endoscopic ultrasound and Japanese clinical diagnostic criteria for chronic pancreatitis. Results: The prevalence of male was higher than female (70.5%/29.5%) and most common in the age group of 41 - 60 about 55%. The prevalence of patients with a history of alcohol abuse was highest with 31.3%, smoking cigarette more than 20 pack-years about 4.1%. The clinical characteristics of patients with chronic pancreatitis are highest in abdominal pain about 66.6% and lowest in jaundice about 5.8%. About biochemical characteristics, an increase of amylase, lipase were found in 29.5% and 31.5%, respectively. The diabetes mellitus were found in 25.6%. A statistically significative difference of abdominal pain was found between the chronic pancreatitis and early chronic pancreatitis patients (p=0.0003). Mean level of lipase in chronic pancreatitis patient is 33.7 U/L(3.3-195) and early chronic pancreatitis patient is 53.1 U/L (20.5-109), with significiant difference (p=0.04). Conclusions: Alcohol consumption, heavy smoking and diabetes mellitus were the most important risk factors of chronic pancreatitis. Abdominal pain was constant while hyperamylasemia and hyperlipasemia was found only in 29.5% and 31.5% patients. Rate of abdominal pain and mean level of serum lipase were different between chronic pancreatitis and early chronic pancreatitis patients. Key words: chronic pancreatitis, endoscopic ultrasound