A comparison of presentation and management trends in acute pancreatitis between infants/toddlers and older children.
OBJECTIVE
Acute pancreatitis is a necroinflammatory disease that leads to 210,000 hospitalizations in the United States annually. Recent reports suggest that there may be important differences in clinical features between infants/toddlers and older children. Thus, in this study we make a direct comparison between the pediatric age groups in presentation and management trends of acute pancreatitis.


METHODS
We examined all children (ages 0 to 20 years) admitted to Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital with pancreatitis between 1994 and 2007.


RESULTS
Two hundred seventy-one cases met inclusion criteria for acute pancreatitis. Infants and toddlers manifested fewer signs and symptoms of abdominal pain, epigastric tenderness, and nausea compared with older children (43% vs 93%; 57% vs 90%; and 29% vs 76%, respectively; P < 0.05 for all comparisons). They were more likely to be diagnosed by serum lipase than by amylase and to undergo radiographic evaluation (P < 0.05). They had a longer hospital stay (19.5 vs 4 days; P < 0.05) and were less likely to be directly transitioned to oral nutrition (14% vs 71%; P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Infants and toddlers with acute pancreatitis present with fewer classical symptoms and are managed differently from older children. We believe these data will be helpful in evaluating and understanding treatment practices in this age group.
Park
Alexander J
AJ
Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Latif
Sahibzada U
SU
Ahmad
Mahwish U
MU
Bultron
Gilberto
G
Orabi
Abrahim I
AI
Bhandari
Vineet
V
Husain
Sohail Z
SZ
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000681:Amylases / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008049:Lipase / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009325:Nausea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D018529:Nutritional Support; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult
D008049:Lipase; D000681:Amylases