Benign Exocrine Pancreatic Diseases in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Background: Data regarding the involvement of the pancreas during the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are scarce and conflicting. Aim: To assess the frequency of benign pancreatic diseases, that is, acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis (CP), and autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP), in a population with IBD. Methods: A search for patients with IBD who presented at our hospital between January 2006 and January 2015 with a diagnosis of IBD was carried out. Patients: A total of 5,242 patients with IBD were included in this study (2,838 males, 54.1%, and 2,404 females, 45.9%, mean age 43.7 years, range 18-101 years). Of these 5,242 patients, 3,201 (61.1%) had Crohn's disease and 2,041 (38.9%) had ulcerative colitis (UC). Results: Thirteen patients developed benign pancreatic diseases (0.2%). Eight patients had acute pancreatitis (0.2%; 4 in the Crohn's disease group and 4 in the UC group), 3 had CP (0.1%, 2 in the Crohn's disease group and 1 in the UC group), 2 had AIP (0.04%), all in the group of diffuse UC (p = 0.321). Conclusions: The frequency of benign pancreatic disease was not high in patients with IBD and was probably similar to that seen in the general population.