title: Chronic pancreatitis: an update for home care and hospice clinicians.
abstract: Chronic pancreatitis is a relentlessly painful condition associated most commonly with alcoholism. Patients suffer wasting and depression as a result of chronic pain. It is important for home care clinicians to recognize the signs of pancreatitis and understand the current evidence-based treatment strategies to control the symptoms. Although alcoholism and depression are frequent comorbidities of pancreatitis, a full discussion of alcoholism and depression is outside the scope of this article.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, Indiana, USA. mhall@usi.edu
authors.forename: Mellisa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010147:Pain Measurement; D019512:Pancreatitis, Alcoholic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D050500:Pancreatitis, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011787:Quality of Health Care