Definition:Chronic pancreatitis is prolonged pancreatic inflammation characterized by irreversible morphologic and functional damage to pancreas
What The Referring Physician Needs To Know- Some changes can be seen in elderly normal patients and must be interpreted with caution in this age group
- Calculi develop in 40-60% of patients with alcoholic pancreatitis
- If solitary stricture is seen in main pancreatic duct, differential considerations include neoplasm or pseudocyst
- ERCP and MRCP help evaluate pancreatic duct for chronic pancreatititis in patients with abdominal pain refractory to medical therapy
- Pancreatic or bile duct strictures or obstruction is major cause of pain and main surgical indications in chronic pancreatitis
- Imaging features of adenocarcinoma and focal pancreatitis overlap; ERCP, EUS with fine needle aspiration biopsy may be required
- Smooth-tapering duct through mass, calcifications, lower duct caliber to gland width ratio favor diagnosis of inflammatory mass over adenocarcinoma
