Editorial: Autoimmune Pancreatitis in Children: Is This a New Subtype of Disease or Early-Onset Idiopathic Duct-Centric Chronic Pancreatitis?

The term autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) encompasses two distinct steroid-responsive pancreatitides, type 1 AIP and idiopathic duct-centric pancreatitis (IDCP) (or type 2 AIP). The current study describes cases of both AIP subtypes in a pediatric population. A comparison of the clinical profile of the described cohort with published data strongly suggests the majority of patients in the current cohort had IDCP. Since relapse rates in IDCP are low and long-term maintenance therapy is not required for IDCP, this has implications for prognosis and therapy. However, longer follow-up is needed to more accurately determine if onset during childhood leads to a different disease course.