Acute pancreatitis in children.
OBJECTIVE
To identify clinical, laboratory, and imaging characteristics associated with severe acute pancreatitis in children.


METHODS
This was a retrospective study of children under 18 years of age with acute pancreatitis between September 1993 and August 2008. Severity of pancreatitis was graded according to established criteria. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data for mild and severe pancreatitis were collected for analysis.


RESULTS
There were 180 cases of pancreatitis; 51 (28.3%) met criteria for severe disease. Severe pancreatitis was most commonly associated with systemic disease (22 of 51; 43.1%) and trauma (13 of 51; 25.4%). Patients with severe pancreatitis had significantly higher body weight, higher frequency of dyspnoea and pleural effusion, and lower serum calcium and albumin levels. Ten patients with systemic disease died; four of them had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Computed tomography (CT) was more accurate than ultrasound in evaluation of the severity of pancreatitis.


CONCLUSIONS
Acute pancreatitis in children is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The severity of paediatric pancreatitis may be influenced by aetiology. CT is recommended for evaluation of severity of pancreatitis.
Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tauyuan, Taiwan.
Yi-Jung
YJ
Chang
Hsun-Chin
HC
Chao
Man-Shan
MS
Kong
Shao-Hsuan
SH
Hsia
Ming-Wei
MW
Lai
Dah-Chin
DC
Yan
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed