Panniculitis and arthritis as the presenting manifestation of chronic pancreatitis

Although rare, panniculitis and polyarthritis can be the presenting manifestations of pancreatitis. Early recognition of this triad is critical because of the high mortality rate from pancreatic disease when the diagnosis is delayed. We report a patient with chronic alcohol intake whose sole presentation was severe polyarthritis and skin lesions secondary to chronic pancreatitis associated with extra pancreatic pseudocyst. Both arthritis and skin lesions disappeared after partial pancreatectomy and pancreatic stent insertion for a pancreatic duct stricture.