A Study of SPINK 1 Mutation and Other Clinical Correlates in Idiopathic Chronic Pancreatitis

Aim Chronic pancreatitis is labelled as idiopathic when no identifiable factors are found. The identifications of genetic mutations associated with pancreatitis have provided opportunities for identifying patients at risk for idiopathic pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to study the demographic, clinical profile and assess the prevalence of genetic mutation (SPINK 1) in idiopathic chronic pancreatitis. Material and methods The study included prospective analysis of patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis at a tertiary care hospital in INDIA. Blood was collected for deoxyribonucleic acid isolation and genotyping of mutations in SPINK1 was performed using the highresolution melting method. Mutations were genotyped using allele-specific amplification polymerase chain reaction. Results 33 patients were included with mean age of 31.75±13.07 years. 22 (67%) of patients were males, 11 (33%) were females. Mean age of patients with SPINK positive was 31.96±9.25 yrs. The mean duration of illness was 31.33±19.89 months. Of the 33 patients 12 (36%) were positive for SPINK-1 mutation. Most of the patients' positive for the SPINK-1 mutation had a younger age of onset. SPINK1 mutation patients in idiopathic chronic pancreatitis showed 100% parenchymal calcification by computed tomography. Conclusions The prevalence of SPINK1 mutation in idiopathic chronic pancreatitis was found to be 36.36%. SPINK1 mutation patients have more frequent episodes of pancreatitis and parenchymal calcification on computed tomography. The clinical profile of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis is different from what has been reported in the past. Received April 05th, 2016 Accepted July 28th, 2016