Chronic pancreatitis in Sicily. Preliminary reports.
The aetiology and clinical characteristics of 42 patients affected with chronic calcifying pancreatitis in a Sicilian population were investigated and compared with a series of other Italian and foreign reports. It was found that the aetiology was 62% alcoholics and 38% idiopathic in origin and that the M/F ratio was 2.5:1. Clinical features as pain, weight loss, pancreatic calcifications, steatorrhea, pseudocysts and associated cirrhosis are significantly more frequent in the group of alcoholics, while cholelithiasis was more frequent in the non-alcoholic group. Two aspects are worth noting in comparison to the north of Italy: a) the lesser frequency of alcoholic forms and b) the high incidence of women.
Montalto
G
G
Cattedra di Patologia Medica II, Università di Palermo, Italy.
Carroccio
A
A
Soresi
M
M
Ficano
L
L
Notarbartolo
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain; D010192:Pancreatic Pseudocyst / Q000453:epidemiology; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012802:Sicily / Q000453:epidemiology; D015431:Weight Loss