Acute pancreatitis in children. An Italian multicentre study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical, morphological and aetiological aspects of acute pancreatitis in children in Italy.


METHODS
The hospital records of 50 consecutive patients with acute pancreatitis observed in 5 Italian Pediatric Departments were reviewed.


RESULTS
A total of 25 males and 25 females (median age 10.5 years, range 2-17) were studied. Of these patients, 48 (96%) had abdominal pain. The pancreatitis was associated with biliary disease in 10 patients (20%); it was due to viral infection in 6 patients (12%), pancreatic duct abnormalities in 4 (8%, familial chronic pancreatitis in 3 (6%), trauma in 5 (10%) and other causes in 5 (10%); the pancreatitis was of unknown origin in 17 patients (34%). Previous attacks of the disease had occurred in 14 patients. A diagnosis of mild pancreatitis was made in 41 patients (82%) and of severe disease in 9 (18%). One patient with severe pancreatitis died from multiorgan failure. Patients with severe pancreatitis had significantly higher serum concentrations of C-reactive protein than patients with mild pancreatitis. Hospital stay was similar for patients with the mild form and those with the severe form of the disease.


CONCLUSIONS
In Italian children, acute pancreatitis is of unknown origin in about one-third of the children and is recurrent in 28% of the cases. The disease is severe in 18% of the cases.
Pezzilli
R
R
Department of Internal Medicine, Sant'Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna, Italy. pezzilli@orsola-malpighi.med.unibo.it
Morselli-Labate
A M
AM
Castellano
E
E
Barbera
C
C
Corrao
S
S
Di Prima
L
L
Lucidi
V
V
Carroccio
A
A
D000208:Acute Disease; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies