Recurrent pancreatitis in three patients with chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction

Chronic idiopathic intestinal pseudo-obstruction is a syndrome with substantial morbidity and mortality associated both with the syndrome and with its therapy. Standard therapy has included prokinetic agents and intravenous nutritional support when oral feedings are inadequate to maintain nutriture. We report three children with chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction who experienced one or more attacks of pancreatitis. Two patients developed pseudocysts. One patient died. All three patients underwent cholecystectomy; one had stones, one had acalculous cholecystitis, and one had a normal gallbladder. All patients received prokinetic agents and total parenteral nutrition as therapy for their pseudo-obstruction. Candidate mechanisms to explain the etiology for pancreatitis in chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction include biliary dysmotility associated with pseudo-obstruction and excessive cholinergic stimulation due to therapy with prokinetic agents.