Long-term outcome of autoimmune pancreatitis.
OBJECTIVE
Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a unique form of pancreatitis and can be complicated with various extrapancreatic lesions. Little is known about the long-term clinical course of AIP. Here we aimed to document the clinical course of AIP.


METHODS
For this study, we recruited 21 patients, averaging 66.5 years in age (range, 19-84 years) and observed them at a mean interval of 40.8 months (range, 18-130 months). Three of the patients were also diagnosed with retroperitoneal fibrosis, 3 had sialoadenitis, 2 had chronic thyroiditis, 1 had interstitial nephritis, and 1 had interstitial pneumonia. Three of the patients underwent surgical therapy, 12 patients received methylprednisolone (PSL) treatment, and the 6 remaining patients received no treatment.


RESULTS
Enlargement of the pancreas was attenuated in all the PSL-treated patients. Seven of the 21 patients showed pancreatic atrophy, of whom 2 were non-PSL-treated patients. Three patients developed chronic pancreatitis. One patient was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after 50 months of PSL therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
As with chronic pancreatitis patients, AIP patients should be observed closely for abnormality in pancreatic function.
Uchida
Kazushige
K
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kansai Medical University, 10-15 Fumizono-cho, Moriguchi, Osaka, 570-8506, Japan.
Yazumi
Shujiro
S
Nishio
Akiyoshi
A
Kusuda
Takeo
T
Koyabu
Masaki
M
Fukata
Masanori
M
Miyoshi
Hideaki
H
Sakaguchi
Yutaku
Y
Fukui
Toshiro
T
Matsushita
Mitsunobu
M
Takaoka
Makoto
M
Okazaki
Kazuichi
K
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D014357:Trypsin / Q000097:blood
D014357:Trypsin; D008775:Methylprednisolone