title: Quality of life and long-term survival after surgery for chronic pancreatitis.
abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term and long-term outcome as well as quality of life in patients undergoing surgical management of chronic pancreatitis. Between January 1980 and December 1996, a total of 255 patients underwent surgery for chronic pancreatitis at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. The etiology of the disease, indications for surgery, patient characteristics, and long-term survival were analyzed. A visual analog quality-of-life questionnaire containing 23 items graded on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 = worst and 10 = best) was sent to patients postoperatively. Visual analog responses relating to before and after the chronic pancreatitis surgery were compared using a paired t test. During the17-year review period, 263 operations were performed for chronic pancreatitis in 255 patients. The most common presenting symptoms were abdominal pain (88%), weight loss (36%), nausea/vomiting (30%), jaundice (14%), and diarrhea (12%). The cause of the pancreatitis was resumed to be alcohol in 43%, idiopathic in 38%, pancreas divisum in 5%, ampullary abnormality in 4%, and gallstones in 3%. Pancreaticoduodenectomy was the most common procedure in 96 patients (37%), followed by distal pancreatectomy in 67 (25%), Puestow procedure in 52 (19%), sphincteroplasty in 37 (14%), and Duval procedure in five (2%). The overall mortality and morbidity rates were 1.9% and 35%, respectively. Two hundred twenty-seven (89%) of the 255 patients were alive at last follow-up. For the entire cohort of patients, the 5- and 10-year actuarial survivals were 88% and 82%, respectively. One hundred six (47%) of the 227 living patients responded to the visual analog quality-of-life questionnaire. Patients reported improvements in all aspects of the quality-of-life survey including enjoyment out of life, satisfaction with life, pain, number of hospitalizations, feelings of usefulness, and overall health (P < 0.005). In addition to improved quality of life after surgery, narcotic use was decreased (41% vs. 21%, P < 0.01) and alcohol use was decreased (59% vs. 33%, P < 0.001). However, patients often became insulin-dependent diabetics (12% vs. 41%, P < 0.0001) and required pancreatic enzyme supplementation (34% vs. 55%, P < 0.01) after surgical intervention. These data suggest that surgery for patients with chronic pancreatitis can be performed safely with minimal morbidity and excellent long-term survival. Moreover, this study evaluates quality of life in a standardized analog fashion, with highly significant improvement reported in all quality-of-life measures. We conclude that surgery remains an excellent option for patients with chronic pancreatitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Pitt
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Sauter
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Lillemo
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cameron
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications; D010180:Pancreatectomy; D016577:Pancreaticoduodenectomy; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011788:Quality of Life; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome