Sensitivity of endoscopic retrograde pancreatography in chronic pancreatitis

Abstract This study examines the value of endoscopic pancreatography in chronic pancreatitis. With the cooperation of nine departments in Italy, the authors examined the pancreatograms of 1179 patients with chronic pancreatitis. The pancreatograms were abnormal in 80·6 per cent. There were difficulties in distinguishing between cancer and pancreatitis in 11·3 per cent, and difficulty in deciding whether the radiographs were normal or slightly abnormal in 6·8 per cent. The ability of pancreatography to diagnose chronic pancreatitis increased with the duration of the disease, reaching 92·3 per cent in those patients who had had chronic pancreatitis for 5 or more years. However, the failure to obtain a pancreatogram increased as calcification increased. A good correlation between abnormalities of the pancreatogram and of the pancreatic function tests was demonstrated.