Background: Some patients with smoldering pancreatitis in the absence of necrosis, pseudocyst, and ductal disruption experience unremitting abdominal pain caused by persistent pancreatic inflammation. Experience with the use of pancreatic duct stents in this patient population was reviewed.
Patients and methods: Data for 11 patients with smoldering pancreatitis who underwent ERCP with pancreatic duct stent placement were reviewed retrospectively. All patients had severe, daily pain that worsened with ingestion of food, had required narcotic analgesics for control of pain, had lost weight, and had persistently elevated serum levels of pancreatic enzymes as well as pancreatic inflammatory changes on CT (without necrosis or pseudocyst). Six patients were being treated with parenteral nutrition.
Observations: The mean duration of symptoms from the onset of pancreatitis until pancreatic duct stent insertion was 74 days (range 14-151 days). Stents were placed for a mean of 7 weeks (range 2-19 weeks). Pancreatic stent placement provided permanent pain relief in 10 (91%) patients within a mean of 9 days (range 3-20 days); one patient had persistent symptoms requiring celiac plexus blockade after 5 months. Parenteral nutrition and treatment with narcotic agents were discontinued for 10 patients within a mean of 15 days (range 7-39 days) after pancreatic duct insertion.
Conclusions: Smoldering pancreatitis may result from functional obstruction, possibly caused by edema or spasm, of the papillary orifice. Insertion of a stent into the pancreatic duct alleviates pain, enables early resumption of oral intake of food, and facilitates pancreatic duct drainage. It also may help to prevent complications arising from persistent pancreatic inflammation.