[Clinical aspects and differential diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. Emphasis on the long term course in 258 patients].

Three typical clinical patterns can be distinguished based upon the experience with the long-term course in 258 cases of chronic relapsing pancreatitis. In chronic pancreatitis without local complications there is 1. an early phase, characterized by recurrent episodes of pancreatitis; 2. a late phase, characterized by the triad: absence of pain, severe global pancreatic insufficiency (diabetes/steatorrhea), and pancreatic calcifications (if any). 3. Local complications (e.g. pseudocysts) produce a different pattern characterized by persistent pain and the symptoms of the "pancreatitis tumor", which may cause many different complications such as cholostasis, gastrointestinal bleeding, duodenal obstruction etc. Local complications are observed mainly in the early phase of the disease. Late symptoms such as diabetes, steatorrhea and calcifications indicate that the pancreatitis is virtually "burned out". The occurrence of late symptoms in the course of the disease varies individually.