Abstract
One hundred and twenty-six patients with chronic pancreatitis (55 in group I, 38 in group II and 33 insuspected cases) were investigated and treated for 1.5 years (from 1986 to 1987) by the National Hospital Cooperative Medical Treatment Study Group. Their average ages were 50.5, 52.9, 49.9, the average duration of illness was 5.0, 4.0, 3.3 years, and the average frequency of admission during the latter period was 2.5, 0.7, 0.6 times, respectively. There were 75 men and 51 women. Of all these men, 69.4% had financial family responsibilities and a job, 15.4% had the responsibilities but no job, 10% had neither and 1.4% had no responsibilities but a job. The cause of their illness was thought to be alcohol-related in 38.3%, idiopathic in 376%, gallstones in 15.1% and various other causes in 9.0%. Drinking and smoking had continued in 47.9% and 58.1% of the alcoholic pancreatitis patients, respectively. Abdominal pain and diabetes were recognized in 70.6% and 20.6% (38.2% of group I chronic pancreatitis patients) of the patients, respectively. Sixty-nine per cent of all the patients recovered sufficiently to be able to work as well as they did before their illness. Health insurance for the aged covered 8.3% of the patients while social security covered 9.3%. There were no problems during treatment in only 27.0% of the 126 patients. Various kind of symptoms developed including abdominal pain. Diabetes mellitus and continued drinking were also observed. Secretin therapy, in which 30 to 50 units of secretin were given by drip infusion once or twice a month, was performed in 20 of the above-mentioned cases. It was found to be effective in 40% of the patients i. e. peain disappeared in 7 patients, the protein-plug in the main pancreatic duct disappeared in 2, exocrine pancreatic functions improved in 2 and endocrine pancreatic functions improved in 1. Secretin therapy was, however, found to be effective in only those patients who had non-calcific chronic pancreatitis. No side-effects were recognized during the therapy.
