ISSN: 2044-9038 (Print) 2044-9046 (Electronic)

Clinical Practice

Indexed Journals On Autoimmune Pancreatitis

Autoimmune pancreatitis is an uncommon cause of recurrent and chronic pancreatitis. It may be characterized by clinical findings resembling pancreatic carcinoma posing a diagnostic challenge to practitioners. Misidentifying autoimmune pancreatitis as pancreatic carcinoma results in unnecessary surgeries for a condition that may be managed medically. Conversely, misdiagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma as autoimmune pancreatitis delays treatment of a potentially fatal malignancy. The pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune pancreatitis are discussed in the context of a case presentation and literature review. This report summarizes the diagnostic criteria required to distinguish this disease from pancreatic carcinoma. In conclusion: 1) the diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis requires a multidisciplinary approach, 2) autoimmune pancreatitis should be strongly considered among the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with presumed pancreatic carcinoma and 3) thorough evaluation for this condition should be pursued to determine the most appropriate treatment and avoid unnecessary surgery. Pancreatic cancer is the most common condition that should be differentiated from local forms of autoimmune pancreatitis. Differentiation from pancreatic carcinoma and normal pancreas on the basis of enhancement characteristics at dual-phase CT demonstrated that the mean CT attenuation value of the pancreatic parenchyma in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis was significantly lower than that in patients with a normal pancreas, the mean CT attenuation value of the mass in autoimmune pancreatitis was not significantly different from that of carcinoma, but in the hepatic phase, the value was significantly higher than that of carcinoma.

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