Phenotype, Management, and Outcomes in Paediatric Acute Pancreatitis: A Real-Life Cross-Sectional Study.

AIM: Limited Canadian data on paediatric acute pancreatitis exist. A meta-analysis of 48 studies reported equal prevalence of acute pancreatitis among various aetiologies, with rates of severe acute pancreatitis at 13.7% in North America. The 2018 NASPGHAN Pancreas Committee position statement highlighted the need for evidence on fluid management and early enteral nutrition. We aimed to evaluate the epidemiology and management of acute pancreatitis at a tertiary care centre.

METHODS

Data were extracted from a hospital database for children diagnosed with acute pancreatitis from January 2014 to December 2021. Descriptive analyses were conducted using SAS software.

RESULTS

Two hundred eight patients (49.0% female) developed acute pancreatitis. The median age was 12.5 years. The most common aetiologies were medication (20.2%), biliary disease (16.4%) and infections (15.4%). The prevalence of moderately severe acute pancreatitis was 10.6%; no patients developed severe acute pancreatitis. Nearly all patients (95.7%) received intravenous fluids. Dietary management during the first 24 h included enteral nutrition (8.2%), oral feeding (32.2%) and fasting (49.5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Paediatric acute pancreatitis has diverse aetiologie, and its management generally aligns with NASPGHAN guidelines. Future studies should focus on the identification of predictive factors of severity in the paediatric population based on recent severity classifications.