Main description:

These proceedings of an international meeting held as recently as December 1996 cover diagnostic procedures in pancreatic disease, together with the progress made over the last 10 years in treating acute and chronic pancreatitis as well as pancreatic cancer. The meeting also covered standards in medical and surgical treatment.

Contents:

Classification of Pancreatitis: Problems and Prospects.- A. Acute Pancreatitis.- Morphology of Acute Pancreatitis in Relation to Etiology and Pathogenesis.- Clinical Presentation and Course of Acute Pancreatitis.- I. Imaging Procedures.- Ultrasound in the Diagnosis and Grading of Acute Pancreatitis.- Computed Tomography in Acute Pancreatitis: Diagnosis, Staging, and Detection of Complications.- Diagnosis of Infected Pancreatic Necrosis.- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography in Acute Pancreatitis: Indications and Limitations.- II. Functional Methods.- Appropriate Use of Serum Pancreatic Enzymes for the Diagnosis of Acute Pancreatitis.- Identification of the Etiological Factor in Acute Pancreatitis.- Exocrine Pancreatic Function During and Following Acute Pancreatitis.- Endocrine Pancreatic Function During and Following Acute Pancreatitis.- III. Prognostic Evaluation.- Pathophysiological Determinants of Severity of Acute Pancreatitis.- Clinical Value of Multifactorial Classification in the Prognostic Evaluation of Acute Pancreatitis.- Biochemical Markers in the Early Prognostic Evaluation of Acute Pancreatitis.- Prognostic Evaluation of Acute Pancreatitis: When- and How-Consequences for Clinical Management.- Diagnostic and Prognostic Evaluation of Graft Pancreatitis.- IV. Guidelines.- Acute Pancreatitis: Diagnostic Guidelines for General Practitioners, Clinicians in Community Hospitals and in Specialized Centers.- B. Chronic Pancreatitis.- I. Chronic Pancreatitis: Clinical Features.- Pathomorphological Feature of Chronic Pancreatitis.- Pathophysiological Events in Chronic Pancreatitis: The Current Concept.- Clinical Presentation and Course of Chronic Pancreatitis.- Painless Versus Painful Chronic Pancreatitis.- II. Imaging Procedures.- Role of Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis, Staging and Detection of Complications of Chronic Pancreatitis.- Diagnosis and Staging of Chronic Pancreatitis by Computed Tomography.- Diagnosis and Staging of Chronic Pancreatitis by Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography.- Radiologic Imaging of Chronic Pancreatitis.- Role of Pancreatic Duct Drainage for Evaluation of Pancreatic Pain.- What Does the Surgeon Need in the Preoperative Evaluation of Chronic Pancreatitis?.- III. Function Tests.- Neuroendocrine Abnormalities of Upper Gut Function in Chronic Pancreatitis: Lessons for Physiology and Pathophysiology.- Direct Pancreatic Function Tests in the Diagnosis and Staging of Chronic Pancreatitis.- Oral Pancreatic Function Tests in the Diagnosis and Staging of Chronic Pancreatitis.- Present and Future of Breath Tests in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Insufficiency.- Value of Serum Pancreatic Enzymes in the Diagnosis of Chronic Pancreatitis.- New Fecal Tests in the Diagnosis of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency.- Extracellular Matrix in Pancreatic Diseases.- Endocrine Pancreatic Function in the Diagnosis and Staging of Chronic Pancreatitis.- IV. Chronic Pancreatitis: Guidelines.- Diagnostic Standards for Chronic Pancreatitis.- Standards in Surgical Treatment of Chronic Pancreatitis.- C. Pancreatic Cancer.- Langerhans Islets Are the Origin of Ductal-Type Adenocarcinoma.- I. Imaging Procedures.- Ultrasound and Endoscopic Ultrasound in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Tumors.- Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Pancreatic Cancer.- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Tumors.- Role of Laparoscopy and Laparoscopic Ultrasound in Pancreatic Cancer.- Intraportal Ultrasonography for Evaluation of Resectability in Pancreatic Cancer.- II. Other Diagnostic Procedures.- Serological Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer.- Role of Cytology in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Tumors.- Scintigraphic Procedures in the Detection of Pancreatic Tumors: Role of Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography.- III. Molecular Biology.- Clinical Applicability of Molecular Procedures in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer.- IV. Guidelines.- Pancreatic Cancer: Diagnostic Guidelines for General Practitioners and Clinicians in Community Hospitals and Specialized Centers.