THE USEFULNESS OF ENDOSCOPIC ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF “EARLY-STAGE” CHRONIC PANCREATITIS

Abstract

Chronic pancreatitis is one of the risk factors for pancreatic cancer and is considered to be an irreversible and progressive disease. However, the conventional diagnostic criteria of chronic pancreatitis had the problem of being able to diagnose only advanced chronic pancreatitis. Based on the hypothesis that the early stage of chronic pancreatitis is a reversible disease, the diagnostic criteria of “early-stage” chronic pancreatitis were developed in Japan for early detection and early treatment of chronic pancreatitis. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) plays an important role in detecting “early-stage” chronic pancreatitis. Many EUS image findings of “early-stage” chronic pancreatitis are mentioned in the Rosemont criteria for the EUS diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis.