PANCREATIC TRAUMA

Course overview

PANCREATIC TRAUMA IS A RARE BUT POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC INJURY THAT CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT TO DIAGNOSE. CONVENTIONAL IMAGING MODALITIES MISS SUBTLE FINDINGS ASSOCIATED WITH A PANCREATIC INJURY, AND POST-TRAUMATIC PANCREATITIS MAY NOT CAUSE MEASURABLE EFFECTS UNTIL SEVERAL HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL EVENT. DIAGNOSTIC TESTING MAY REQUIRE MAGNETIC RESONANCE CHOLANGIOPANCREATOGRAPHY (MRCP) OR ENDOSCOPIC RETROGRADE CHOLANGIOPANCREATOGRAPHY (ERCP). A DELAY IN DIAGNOSIS CAN LEAD TO COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS INFECTIONS, PSEUDOCYSTS, ABSCESSES, DUCT STRICTURES, PERITONITIS, AND ENDOCRINE/EXOCRINE INSUFFICIENCY WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. INCORRECT CLASSIFICATION DETERS PROPER INTERVENTION AND MANAGEMENT. A HIGH DEGREE OF SUSPICION AND COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE IS REQUIRED TO IDENTIFY, CLASSIFY, AND TREAT TRAUMATIC PANCREATIC EFFECTIVELY. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PANCREATIC TRAUMA AND HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF AN INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN CARING FOR PATIENTS WITH TRAUMATIC PANCREATIC INJURY.