Pseudocysts of the pancreas after blunt abdominal trauma in children

Of 6 children with posttraumatic pancreatic pseudocyst, 5 had been transferred from other hospitals. Three of the 5 had undergone laparotomy but in only 1 had the pancreatic injury been noted. All 5 had elevated serum amylase activity on admission here, but in only 2 had this been measured in the referring hospital. Three were seriously ill at the time of transfer, and all 6 patients required prolonged hospitalization (1.3--5.5 mo). The lesion resolved spontaneously in 1, and was drained externally in 3 and by cystogastrostomy alone i 1. One child required multiple surgical procedures, terminating in subtotal pancreatectomy. The seriousness of this lesion demands constant alertness to the possibility of pancreatic pseudocysts in children who have suffered upper abdominal trauma, however minor.