Mechanistic insights into pancreatic duct pressure: from basic physiology to translational implications

This review summarizes recent advances in pancreatic ductal hypertension (PDH), emphasizing its pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical relevance across pancreatic diseases, and progress in noninvasive assessment. The aim is to highlight translational insights that may improve patient selection for intervention and guide long-term management strategies.

Evidence indicates that PDH contributes not only to pain in chronic pancreatitis but also to exocrine insufficiency, diabetes, and complications such as post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP) and recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP). Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) are central to fibrosis and are directly activated by pressure, reinforcing disease progression. Traditional methods of measuring pancreatic duct pressure rely on invasive manometry, microtransducer catheters, or pancreatic fistulae, all with inherent risks. Recent translational advances, particularly magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) integrated with computational fluid dynamics modeling, have demonstrated the feasibility of noninvasive pancreatic duct pressure (PDP) estimation with strong concordance to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography-based manometry and symptom relief.

These advances emphasize the critical role of accurate pressure assessment in identifying patients with true ductal hypertension who are most likely to benefit from decompression. Noninvasive measurement offers a promising strategy to limit unnecessary interventions and to delineate the direct contribution of ductal pressure to exocrine, endocrine, and related disorders. Validation in larger cohorts and high-risk populations will be essential.