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  • Review Article
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What's unique about acute pancreatitis in children: risk factors, diagnosis and management

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 14, pages 366–372 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

Key Points

  • Acute pancreatitis is a painful inflammatory process that is growing in incidence in children

  • The most common risk factors for acute pancreatitis in children are biliary tract disease and medications, although genetic associations are becoming much more appreciated

  • The symptoms of acute pancreatitis differ based on age and developmental stage

  • The key principles of management for acute pancreatitis in children are to provide adequate pain control and supportive care and remove the inciting risk factor if known

  • About one-quarter of children with acute pancreatitis will develop recurrence and one-third of those children will progress to chronic pancreatitis

Abstract

Pancreatitis in children is an appreciable problem that has become increasingly prevalent. This Review covers the principles related to the definitions, epidemiology, risk factors, diagnosis and management of acute pancreatitis in children and identifies features that are unique among children. Additionally, knowledge gaps related to management principles are identified.

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Figure 1: Aetiology of acute pancreatitis in children.
Figure 2: Pancreas divisum visualized by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pediatrics, 4401 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15224, Pennsylvania, USA

    Sohail Z. Husain & Arvind I. Srinath

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Both authors contributed equally to this Review.

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Correspondence to Sohail Z. Husain.

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Husain, S., Srinath, A. What's unique about acute pancreatitis in children: risk factors, diagnosis and management. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 14, 366–372 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2017.13

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