[Acute pancreatitis in childhood. Is it the same disease in adults?].
BACKGROUND
Acute pancreatitis in children is an uncommon, little known, poorly defined disease and thus is rarely considered in diagnosis of pediatric abdominal pain. It is rare but is being recognized more frequently, and differs from the disease in the adult both in etiology and therapeutic approach.


METHODS
Fifty children with acute pancreatitis were managed. Their history and postoperative course were analyzed in a retrospective study.


RESULTS
The clinical presentation was unremarkable; all patients had abdominal pain, specially in epigastrium, and vomiting was the only other clinical sign exhibited by > 80%. More than 40 biliary diseases were the cause of pancreatitis; trauma was the cause in 30%. Diagnosis could be difficult and unnecessary laparotomy was performed in 16 cases (32.0%) instances of suspected acute abdomen. Morbidity included sepsis, diabetic cetoacidosis, and pancreatic pseudocyst. Biliary disease is a frequent cause of both pediatric and adult pancreatitis. They are differences in clinical course and prognosis. In children, pancreatitis is usually confused with appendicitis.
Jefe del Departamento de Cirugía General, Hospital Pediátrico Moctezuma, Oriente 158, No. 189, Col. Moctezuma 2a Sec., Deleg. Venustiano Carranza, C.P. 15500, México D.F., México.
Carlos
C
Baeza-Herrera
Luis
L
Velasco-Soria
Francisco
F
Mora-Hernández
Arturo Hermilo
AH
Godoy-Esquivel
Cecilia Dinorah
CD
Osorio-Agüero
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies