Diagnosis and treatment of chronic pancreatitis.
OBJECTIVE
To summarize our experience in treatment of chronic pancreatitis (CP).


METHODS
Clinical data on 245 patients with CP treated at our hospital from May 1983 to October 2001 were reviewed.


RESULTS
Of the 245 patients, 122 suffered from CP for a year (49.8%) and 191 for 5 years (78.0%). The rate of positive diagnosis of B-ultrasound, CT, ERCP, B2-Ty-Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) for CP was 74.2%, 80.7%, 76.5% and 72.8%, respectively. 169 patients (69.0%) received surgical treatment. After the operation, 98.8% of the 169 patients experienced decreased pain with a complication rate of 1.2%.


CONCLUSIONS
Early diagnosis and appropriate operative time and management are of vital importance in improving patients'quality of life and controlling the natural history of the disease.
Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing 100730, China.
Quan
Q
Liao
Yu-Pei
YP
Zhao
Wei-Wei
WW
Wu
Bing-Lu
BL
Li
Jia-Yi
JY
Li
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D016896:Treatment Outcome