The Practical Management of Chronic Pancreatitis: A Multidisciplinary Symposium Held at the Annual Meeting of the Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Manchester 2016.

AIM

This study is about a questionnaire survey of delegates attending the chronic pancreatitis symposium at the 2016 meeting of the Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and seeks a multidisciplinary "snapshot" overview of practice.

METHODS

A questionnaire was developed with multidisciplinary input. Questions on access to specialist care, methods of diagnosis and treatment including specific scenarios were incorporated. Eighty-three (66%) of 125 delegates effectively participated in this survey.

RESULTS

Twenty-four (29%) had neither a chronic pancreatitis MDT in their hospital nor a chronic pancreatitis referral MDT. Most frequently utilised diagnostic modalities were CT, MR and EUS with no respondents utilising duodenal intubation tests. Initial treatment was provided through non-opiate analgesia by 69 (93%), through the use of opiates by 56 (76%) and through the use of co-analgesics by 49 (66%). Fifty two (68%) routinely referred patients with alcohol-related disease for counselling. Preferred treatment for large duct disease without mass was endoscopic therapy. In older patients with a mass, pancreaticoduodenectomy was preferred.

CONCLUSION

This is a small study likely to be skewed by sampling bias but is thought to be the first multidisciplinary survey of the management of chronic pancreatitis in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The results show a need for comprehensive access to specialist pancreatitis MDT care and there remains substantial variation in management.