Quality of life in patients with chronic pancreatitis.

Introduction: Health-related quality of life is becoming a major issue in the evaluation of any therapeutic intervention in patients with chronic or hard to cure diseases.

Aims: To assess the quality of life in patients with chronic pancreatitis, the majority of whom have had the disease for a long time, and to evaluate which factors linked to the disease are able to influence the quality of life.

Subjects And Methods: A total of 190 consecutive patients (157 males, 33 females; mean age 58.

Serum trypsinogen activation peptide in the assessment of the diagnosis and severity of acute pancreatic damage: a pilot study using a new determination technique.

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical value of a new direct and competitive immunoassay for trypsinogen activation peptide (TAP) determination in acute pancreatitis (AP).

Methods: The subjects were 34 patients with AP (22 mild, 12 severe), 12 patients with nonpancreatic acute abdominal pain (AA), 11 healthy subjects (HS), and 16 consecutive patients who underwent therapeutic ERCP (ERCP). Serum TAP, amylase, and lipase levels were determined in AP, AA, and HS at their initial observation; the AP patients were also studied for 6 consecutive days after admission.

Immune-manipulation of the inflammatory response in acute pancreatitis. What can be expected?

Severe acute pancreatitis still has a high mortality rate and multiple organ failure is considered to be a severe complication of the disease. Activated polymorphonuclear leukocytes have an important role in the development of multiple organ failure which may result from acute pancreatitis and they are an important pathogenetic factor in the severity of this disease. Therefore, a logical therapeutic approach is to limit the organ damage by selective suppression of inflammatory mediators involved in the systemic inflammatory response syndrome and protect against systemic complication.