Acute (nonprogressive) alcoholic pancreatitis: prospective longitudinal study of 144 patients with recurrent alcoholic pancreatitis.

Over the last 10 years, a series of 144 consecutive patients with alcoholic recurrent pancreatitis have been studied prospectively at regular intervals with particular regard to exocrine function, calcifications, pancreatographic ductal changes, and histopathology of the pancreas. Based upon the long-term course, the patients were classified into two groups; group A (n = 95), those with chronic pancreatitis (78 of them with calcifications); and group B (n = 49), those with acute (nonprogressive) pancreatitis. The duration of disease from onset was 2-19 years (median, 9.7 and 8.3 years, respectively, in group A and B). The two groups were comparable at onset of the disease in age, sex, number of episodes of pancreatitis, and number of pseudocysts. In group A, all 95 cases fulfilled the strict diagnostic criteria of chronic pancreatitis within the period of observation (e.g., progressive exocrine insufficiency and/or typical morphological changes, particularly calcifications). In group B, the exocrine function remained normal over the entire period of observation. No histologic evidence of chronic pancreatitis was detected in five of seven large pancreatic specimens. Marked to moderate ductal changes were found in 10 of 16 patients in group B (despite normal exocrine function). Our data suggest that about one third of patients of the present series with alcoholic (recurrent) pancreatitis did not progress toward chronic (progressive) pancreatitis, although some demonstrated morphological alterations (except calcifications) in association with normally preserved exocrine function (residual scars?). The pathogenetic factor(s) responsible for progression (or nonprogression) of alcoholic (recurrent) pancreatitis to chronic pancreatitis remain(s) to be elucidated.