Chronic pancreatitis is a serious disease. It can develop imperceptibly or give seemingly banal symptoms - diarrhea, stomach pain. It is easy to underestimate them, for example ascribing to dietary errors. What are the causes and symptoms of pancreatitis? How is the treatment going?

Chronic pancreatitisis diagnosed every year in several to several dozen people per one hundred thousand inhabitants. The pancreas is also an endocrine gland - it produces hormones that regulate blood glucose (mainly insulin), and digestive hormones - it supplies the small intestine with enzymes that enable the absorption of food ingredients. Enzymes are found in the pancreatic juice secreted by this gland. Therefore, long-term impairment of the pancreatic function may lead to progressive malnutrition of the body and the development of other diseases, e.g. diabetes. The problem is that sometimes only significant damage to the pancreas can cause any symptoms.

How Chronic Pancreatitis Starts

Chronic pancreatitisis a complication of acute pancreatitis, but more often it is associated with alcohol abuse. People suffering from cystic fibrosis or gallstone disease also suffer from it. As damage progresses, the pancreas becomes unable to secrete enough hormones and enzymes. The patient loses his appetite, loses weight, suffers from flatulence and diarrhea. In the flare-up phase, he or she may also complain of blistering back-radiating abdominal pain which usually does not go away with the usual painkillers.

The most common form is chronic calcified pancreatitis, the main etiological factor of which is alcohol. The risk of developing the disease increases when we drink alcohol regularly, e.g. every day. It has been proven that 20 g of pure ethanol per day (i.e. 50 ml of vodka or 100 ml of wine or 500 ml of beer) is enough to damage the pancreas over time. This means that the disease can develop after drinking even small, socially acceptable amounts of alcohol. In over 30 percent Diabetes mellitus develops in patients with chronic pancreatitis who abuse alcohol. Usually it is not controlled by diet and you need to take insulin.

How to recognize pancreatitis - what tests should be done?

Becausechronic pancreatitisdoesn't make it clearsymptoms, it is worth having check-ups from time to time. The easiest way is to test the blood: check the level of leukocytes (the norm is 4-10 thousand / μl) and the enzyme amylase (AMI) in the blood (roughly the norm is between 25 and 125 U / l). The concentration of amylase can also be determined on the basis of urinalysis (indicative value is below 650 U / l). Exceeding the above-mentioned standards is an indication for further research.Chronic pancreatitisis usually diagnosed on the basis of imaging tests, including ultrasound or radiographic examination of the abdominal cavity. Sometimes computed tomography, endoscopic endosonography or magnetic resonance imaging are sometimes useful.

Chronic pancreatitis - treatment

Chronic pancreatitiscan be treated pharmacologically or surgically (endoscopy). Pancreatitis is often associated with severe pain for the patient, hence the rapid initiation of effective treatment of this ailment is very important for the patient's comfort and well-being.

Chronic pancreatitisis a serious disease that requires the care of a team of specialists consisting of an experienced gastroenterologist, diabetologist and surgeon. The disease is treated depending on the prevailing symptoms. However, the basic recommendations apply to the diet - it must be easy to digest and low-fat, because the damaged pancreas has problems digesting fats. You should also absolutely stop drinking alcohol in any form.

  • Drug treatment of chronic pancreatitis

Preparations containing pancreatic enzymes are of primary importance in the pharmacological treatment of chronic pancreatitis. Their use not only reduces the secretory insufficiency of the pancreas, but also reduces the pressure in the pancreatic ducts, which has an analgesic effect. The general rule is to take medications (enzymes) while eating. Since pancreatitis is often accompanied by severe pain, many patients need to be given painkillers at the same time. If diabetes develops as a complication of pancreatitis, parallel treatment of the disease is started, including insulin administration.

  • Surgical treatment of chronic pancreatitis

If pharmacological treatment of chronic pancreatitis does not bring the expected results, endoscopic surgery may be necessary. It may be pancreatic sphincretomy (cutting the sphincter in the Vater bubble) supplemented with stenting or balloon expansion, removal of pancreatic stones, pseudocyst drainage to the stomach or duodenum. Persistent painand progressive wasting of the body is an indication for surgical treatment (drainage or resection procedures).

Important

The pancreas lies in the upper abdominal cavity, in the retroperitoneal space, behind the stomach, at the junction of the main blood vessels. The main duct runs along its entire length - from the tail to the head - which carries the juices produced by the pancreas to the duodenum, i.e. the first segment of the small intestine. At the exit site (the so-called Vater bubble), the pancreatic duct connects with the bile duct leading from the gallbladder.

Category:

Gastrology