Pseudocysts being the most frequent local complications of acute pancreatitis (AP)
have substantial effect on the disease course, hospitalization and quality of life
of the patient. Our study aimed to understand the effects of pre-existing (OLD-P)
and newly developed (NEW-P) pseudocysts on AP.Data were extracted from the Acute Pancreatitis
Registry organized by the Hungarian Pancreatic Study Group (HPSG). 2275 of 2461 patients
had uploaded information concerning pancreatic morphology assessed by imaging technique.
Patients were divided into "no pseudocyst" (NO-P) group, "old pseudocyst" (OLD-P)
group, or "newly developed pseudocyst" (NEW-P) groups.The median time of new pseudocyst
development was nine days from hospital admission and eleven days from the beginning
of the abdominal pain. More NEW-P cases were severe (15.9% vs 4.7% in the NO-P group
p < 0.001), with longer length of hospitalization (LoH) (median: 14 days versus 8
days, p < 0.001), and were associated with several changed laboratory parameters.
OLD-P was associated with male gender (72.2% vs. 56.1%, p = 0.0014), alcoholic etiology
(35.2% vs. 19.8% in the NO-P group), longer hospitalization (median: 10 days, p <
0.001), a previous episode of AP (p < 0.001), pre-existing diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis
(CP) (p < 0.001), current smoking (p < 0.001), and increased alcohol consumption (unit/week)
(p = 0.014).Most of the new pseudocysts develop within two weeks. Newly developing
pseudocysts are associated with a more severe disease course and increased length
of hospitalization. Pre-existing pseudocysts are associated with higher alcohol consumption
and smoking. Because CP is more frequently associated with a pre-existing pseudocyst,
these patients need closer attention after AP.
