Idiopathic pancreatitis in inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The incidence of pancreatitis is increased in inflammatory bowel disease. However, pancreatitis as an extraintestinal manifestation of the intestinal disease is exceedingly rare. We have retrospectively analyzed the prevalence of pancreatitis in a combined hospital cohort, and specifically studied cases in which no other cause than the intestinal disease itself could be found. METHODS The prevalence of pancreatitis in 1057 inflammatory bowel disease patients from two hospitals in the Community of Madrid, Spain, was determined by means of database examination. RESULTS The prevalence of pancreatitis was 2.74% (29 cases); only in four patients (0.38%) it was considered idiopathic and thus a possible extraintestinal manifestation. Underlying chronic pancreatitis was identified in three of these four patients. CONCLUSIONS In inflammatory bowel disease patients, pancreatitis is more often due to a nonrelated cause, and cases that can be adscribed to extraintestinal manifestation of the intestinal disease are comparatively rare.