Pediatric chronic pancreatitis: current perspectives in diagnosis, risk factors, and management.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Pediatric chronic pancreatitis is an increasingly recognized condition with devastating impacts on a child's quality of life. This review explores recent developments in the diagnosis and treatment strategies of pediatric chronic pancreatitis, emphasizing the expanded awareness of risk factors, refined imaging techniques, and evolving therapeutic approaches, including pharmacologic, endoscopic, and surgical, interventions.

RECENT FINDINGS: The rising incidence of pediatric chronic pancreatitis has been met with increased vigilance and study of how to approach and manage the disease paradigm. Greater understanding and advances in the role of genetics, efforts to standardize and optimize imaging techniques, and the expansion of access, applications, and outcomes of pediatric endoscopic therapy and surgery have all played an integral role in the improvement of care in children with chronic pancreatitis.

SUMMARY: With increased recognition of pediatric chronic pancreatitis, efforts to diagnose and manage the disease have expanded in kind. Though additional needs exist, particularly in the diagnosis of early chronic pancreatitis and prevention of progression, pain management, and continued expansion of therapeutic outcomes and management, we continue to approach the goal of the comprehensive care of children with chronic pancreatitis.