Pancreatitis in Turkish children: a single center experience

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical, laboratory and etiologic differences between acute pancreatitis and acute recurrent and chronic pancreatitis in children. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the children with pancreatitis who had been followed between January 2009 and September 2018. Acute recurrent pancreatitis was defined as 2 or more episodes of AP with a return to baseline in the intervals. Chronic pancreatitis was diagnosed in the presence of typical abdominal pain plus characteristic imaging findings or evidence of endocrine or exocrine pancreatic deficiency. The etiologies, demographic features, and laboratory and imaging findings were compared in children with acute pancreatitis (group 1) and acute recurrent and chronic pancreatitis (group 2). Results: Twenty-one patients (38.2%) were in acute pancreatitis group (group 1). Group 2 included 27 patients in acute recurrent pancreatitis and 7 patients in chronic pancreatitis [34 patients (61.8%)]. The most common etiologies were idiopathic (61.9%) and drugs (19%) in group 1; idiopathic (47%), hereditary pancreatitis (17.6%), pancreaticobiliary maljunction (14.7%), and congenital anomalies of the pancreatic duct (8.8%) in group 2. There was no statistical difference between the two groups regarding demographic, clinical and laboratory findings except higher gamma-glutamyl transferase in group 2. Conclusion: The etiology of pancreatitis in children was mostly idiopathic in two groups in our study. Drugs were the second common cause in acute pancreatitis whereas the other common causes were pancreaticobiliary maljunction and hereditary disorders in acute recurrent pancreatitis or chronic pancreatitis.