BackgroundSpontaneous pancreatic portal vein fistula (PPVF) - a rare complication of pancreatic inflammation – varies widely in presentation and means of diagnosis but has been previously associated with bleeding complications and mortality. A systematic review of published literature was performed to assess the frequency of outcomes. MethodsA search of electronic databases (PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, gray literature) resulted in 1667 relevant unique manuscripts; 52 met inclusion criteria. ResultsA total of 74 unique (male n = 47, 63.5 %) patients were included. Mean age was 53.5 (±11.9) years. History of alcohol use was reported in 55 (74.3 %). Underlying chronic pancreatitis (CP) was present in 49 (66.2 %). In cases where presenting symptoms were reported (n = 57, 77.4 %), the most frequent were abdominal pain (63.5 %), weight loss (14.9 %), rash (12.2 %), nausea/vomiting (12.2 %), and polyarthritis (9.5 %). Computed tomography was the most common imaging modality used to confirm the diagnosis (n = 20, 27.0 %), followed by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (n = 14, 18.9 %). Portal vein thrombosis was reported in 57 (77.0 %), and bleeding events (luminal, variceal, or intra-pseudocyst) were reported in 13(17.6 %) patients. Younger age was associated with higher risk of bleeding events. Mortality was reported in 12 (16.2 %) patients at any time during follow up. Older age and polyarthritis at presentation were associated with mortality. ConclusionsPPVF is a rare and potentially fatal condition, though rates of bleeding complication and death were relatively low in this population. High-quality observational studies are needed to better understand the pathophysiology and natural history of this diagnosis.