Exocrine pancreatic changes following acute attack of biliary pancreatitis

Following the Cambridge and Marseilles Symposia, functional recovery of the pancreas occurs if the primary cause and complications of the disease have been eliminated. However, recent research showed contradictory results, owing to the difference in diagnostic methods and the proportion of patients studied in relation to the etiologic factor and severity of the disease, as well as the differences in the tests utilized. Sixty-three consecutive patients with acute biliary pancreatitis were prospectively studied. Seventeen were men (27%) and 46 were women (73%), with an average age of 62.3 years, 45 were mild cases and 18 were severe. All patients underwent a cholecystectomy. No patient in this series underwent necrosectomy. During the acute phase, severity was evaluated following the Atlanta criteria as well as the existence of necrosis and its percentage by means of dynamic computed tomography (CT). During the follow-up, different tests were used to assess the pancreatic exocrine function, 1 month, 6 months and 1 year after the acute pancreatitis (AP) episode. The possible existence of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency following biliary origin AP as well as whether this possible deficit was related to the severity of the episode was investigated. We found no such insufficiency 1 year after the episode, and no link with the severity of the episode.