Acute pancreatitis and recurrent acute pancreatitis: an exploration of clinical and etiologic factors and outcomes.

Objective: To describe the epidemiology and clinical features of acute pancreatitis and recurrent acute pancreatitis in children.

Methods: Observational and retrospective study with an analytical component. Patients were classified into two groups: Acute pancreatitis and recurrent pancreatitis. The relationship with each parameter obtained was analyzed using the chi-squared test, Student's t-test, or the Mann-Whitney U test.

Results: There were 130 patients with acute pancreatitis; recurrent pancreatitis was diagnosed in 23.8% of the cases. The most frequent causes were anatomical (29.6%), pharmacological (19.2%), and biliary (14.6%), although in 29.2% etiology was not identified. Fasting lasted 3.5±3.8 days and parenteral nutrition was indicated in 26.9% of the cases for 10.8±11.3 days. A statistical association with anatomical (p=0.02) and pharmacological causes (p=0.01) was found in the recurrent pancreatitis group; no other differences between acute pancreatitis and recurrent pancreatitis groups were observed. The mortality rate was 3.1%, it was not attributable to acute pancreatitis in any cases.

Conclusion: Acute pancreatitis is associated with a high frequency of acute recurrent pancreatitis. Severity and complications did not show statistically significant differences in this investigation. Anatomical etiologies were the most relevant cause in this cohort. Fasting time and parenteral nutrition use were relevant. Genetics testing is required in this population.