Acute pancreatitis in children.
Twenty-nine children with acute pancreatitis were managed during the period 1971 to 1983. Aetiology included trauma (5), mumps (5), drug therapy (4), biliary disease (1), and cystic fibrosis (1); 13 cases were classified as idiopathic. Diagnosis could be difficult, and unnecessary laparotomies were performed in 7 instances for suspected appendicitis. One patient, however, had a well-justified laparotomy revealing coexisting severe appendicitis and pancreatitis. Morbidity included relapses (7), pseudocysts (3), obstructive duodenal hematoma (1), and miscellaneous problems (4). Improvements in management included endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) to exclude anatomical anomalies in relapsing cases, ultrasonography for the diagnosis of pseudocysts and for follow-up measurements in two such cases successfully managed conservatively, and increasing use of total parenteral nutrition in cases with protracted disease or serious complications.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D014463:Ultrasonography