This National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline aims to improve recognition and diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis, as well as to improve the quality of care, information provision and support for people with both acute and chronic pancreatitis.
Recommendations
This guideline includes recommendations on:
Acute pancreatitis
- potential causes to investigate
- how to administer nutrition support
- how to manage complications such as infected necrosis and pseudocysts
- when to seek advice and refer to a specialist pancreatic centre.
Chronic pancreatitis
- potential causes
- when to consider chronic pancreatitis in the differential diagnosis of chronic or recurrent upper abdominal pain
- awareness of the high risk of malnutrition and malabsorption and the need for appropriate advice from a dietician
- managing complications such as pain, pancreatic duct obstruction, fluid collections and type 3c diabetes
- follow-up of pancreatic exocrine function, and to identify pancreatic cancer and diabetes.
Information and support
- information for people with pancreatitis and their family or carers
- information about medical management that should be passed to GPs by specialists involved in the care of people with pancreatitis
- advice about alcohol intake and smoking cessation.
You can read the guideline on NICE's website.