Anton Vavrečka, Michelle Swekla
Chronic pancreatitis is defined as a persistent inflammatory disease of the pancreas, associated with irreversible morphological changes. These changes can cause abdominal pain and/or permanent damage of functions of pancreas (exocrine and endocrine insufficiency). The onset of chronic pancreatitis is associated with genetic and/or environmental factors. The course of the disease can be variable. There are different classifications of chronic pancreatitis; this article mentions particularly three most important ones: TIGAR- O, M-ANNHEIM and ABC classifications. The classifications have not only theoretical/scientific meaning but are also utilized to guide the diagnosis and treatment. The clinical manifestation of the disease includes abdominal pain or non-specific dyspeptic complaints. An important role in the diagnosis is played by the imaging methods such as transabdominal ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic ultrasonography which has high sensitivity and specificity. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is nowadays considered a therapeutic method rather than a diagnostic one. The pancreatic function tests play much less important role.