Browsing by Subject "pediatric surgery"

Objective. Recent studies have reported an increasing incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) in children. The etiology of AP in children is more diverse compared to adults. All patients treated for acute pancreatitis (AP) or acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) in Helsinki University Children’s hospital during 1999-2018 were reviewed. Methods. ARP was considered as two or more episodes of AP over a lifetime. Demographics, clinical findings, laboratory test results, genetic assessment, imaging findings, endoscopic and surgical treatment, duration of hospital stay, number of pancreatitis episodes, and outcome were analyzed. Results. Of a total of 34 identified patients [n=22 (64%) AP; n=12 (35%) ARP; n=17 (50%) females] none died. The most frequent etiologies were pancreaticobiliary (26%), drug-induced (21%), hereditary (18%), autoimmune (9%) and idiopathic (21%) pancreatitis. An underlying SPINK1 (n=4) and PRSS1 mutation was found in five (15%) patients. Median age at diagnosis was 9.8 (8.2-11) years. Patients with pancreaticobiliary pancreatitis were younger at presentation [4.3 (2.5-9.8) vs. 10 (8.5-12) years, p=0.025] and underwent ERCP (n=7/9 vs. 8/25, p=0.025), and surgical or endoscopic interventions (n= 8/9 vs. 8/25 p=0.006) more frequently compared to the rest of the cohort. The most common long-term complications affecting 29% of patients were chronic upper abdominal pain and diarrhea, occurring each in three patients (8.8%), respectively. Four patients received pancreatic enzyme substitution, while none developed diabetes. Conclusions. Our study highlights the diverse etiology of pediatric pancreatitis necessitating comprehensive diagnostic work-up and management options with relatively low long-term morbidity.