Early detection of pancreatic lesions in chronic alcoholism: diagnostic accuracy of ERP.

In order to detect early pancreatic changes in chronic alcoholism, we reviewed pancreatograms (ERP) in 35 patients with alcoholic chronic liver disease who had no clinical evidence of pancreatitis. The patients were grouped by the length of history of alcohol intake (group 1: 5-15 years; group 2: more than 15 years), and on the basis of daily alcohol intake (group 1: 100-150 g/day; group 2: 150-200 g/day; group 3: more than 200 g/day). Pancreatic changes were present at ERP in 48.6% of patients, suggesting mild pancreatitis in 15 patients and advanced pancreatitis in two. Pancreatic lesions were significantly more frequent (p less than 0.01) in those who took more than 200 g of alcohol each day. There was no correlation with the length of history of alcoholism or with hepatic lesions. Our data confirm that asymptomatic pancreatitis is frequent in chronic alcoholism and that ERP can detect pancreatic lesions not otherwise demonstrable.