Laboratory diagnosis of pancreatic diseases

Abstract

Diseases of the pancreas in diagnosis are very problematic, since the symptoms are non-specific, and the training of doctors in the field of clinical pancreatology leaves much to be desired. With a incidence of 3–4/100 000 inhabitants and a prevalence of 10–40/100 000 inhabitants, chronic pancreatitis is a relatively common disease in industrialized countries. In our practice, we often encounter overdiagnosis of this pathology. CP represents the end of the continuum of diseases between acute and chronic pancreatitis. This article is intended to cover the basics of laboratory diagnostics of chronic pancreatitis and at the same time point to open questions for clinical research, expand the horizons of doctors, to timely determine both inflammatory processes in the pancreas and its exo- and endocrine insufficiency to prescribe adequate treatment.

Keywords

• pancreatic diseases
• chronic pancreatitis
• acinar cell cytolysis markers
• pancreonecrosis markers
• pancreatic exocrine dysfunction markers