Acute pancreatitis in children: A single center experience over ten years

Abstract

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease characterized by suddenonset abdominal pain together with elevation of pancreatic enzymes andradiographic changes. Increased incidence of AP in children have beenreported in recent reports. In this study; we aimed to analyze the demographiccharacteristics, etiology, outcome and incidence of AP among hospitalizedchildren in our center. Medical records of the children with AP sinceJanuary 2005 were analyzed from hospital files (N=63). Major etiologieswere systemic diseases (14.3%), trauma (11.1%), cholelithiasis (9.5%); 54%(N=34) of the patients had mild AP, while 28.6% (N=18) had moderatelysevere AP and 17.4% (N=11) had severe AP. Organ dysfunction was foundin 11 patients (17.4%) at initial examination. During the follow-up period(68.1±24.3 months), 10 patients (15.9%) experienced 24 recurring AP (RAP)attacks. Male gender, presence of local pancreatic or systemic complicationsat initial attack, metabolic and hereditary diseases were associated with theincreased risk of RAP (p