Acute Pancreatitis in Children

Acute pancreatitis(AP) in children is not common but can be associated with severe morbidity rates and its diagnosis is often delayed. Thus, reported mortality rates range from 0 to 78%. We have treated 26 patients with AP from 5 to 17 years of age over the past 17 years. We are intended to assess the relevance of the prognostic criteria used to assess severity of adult AP and to review the etiology, clilical presentation, diagnosis, and management of AP in children. The authors retrospectively reviewed 26 children with AP managed in Kyung Hee University Hospital from 1978 to 1995. Among 26 patients with AP, male were 12, and female were 14. And the mean age of patients was 11.8 years. In 9(34.6 %), no definitive cause was identified. Common causes of AP were trauma(23.1 %) and biliary tract disease(23.l%). Other etiologies were viral infection(15.4%) and post ERCP(3.8%). The presenting features were abdominal pain(92.3%), vomiting(61.5%), fever(l9.2%), submandibular pain(l1.5%), and abdominal mass(7. 6%). Back pain was rare(3.8%). Abdominal ultrasonographic findings were abnormal in 10 of 16 patients(62.5%) and abdominal CT findings were abnormal for 9 of 9 patients(100%). Seventeen patients(65.3%) were managed conservatively, and nine patients(34.6%) required surgical treatment. There was no mortality. To evaluate the severity of disease, we used the Imrie prognostic criteria used to assess the severity in adult AP. The number of positive criteria was correlated to the duration of hospitalization(r2=0.91) but statistically insignificant(p > 0.05). But, the number of positive criteria was correlated to the operative incidence(r2 = 0.93) and statistically significant(p < 0.05). The common causes of AP in children were unkown origin(34.6%), trauma(23.l %), and bili.ary tract disease(23.1 %). Ultrasonography and computed tomography were useful imaging tools of AP in children. The Imrie criteria used to evaluate the severity in adult AP were suspected to be valuable to asssess the severity of AP in children.

A Cloacal Exstrophy Variant Associated with Hindgut Duplication

Diphallus is a rare congenital anomaly and is frequently associated with duplication of the urinary tract and rectosigmoid, and commonly associated with vertebral anomalies. Remzi reported less than 100 cases of duplication of all or a portion of the penis, but about 10 cases of complete diphallus with exstrophy of cloaca was reported, and a case of complete diphallus associated with hingut duplication was reported, and complete diphallus with displacement of bladder associated hindgut duplication and imperforate anus was not reported in Korea. We experienced a case of the complete diphallus associated with displacement of bladder, hindgut duplication, and imperforate anus as a variant of cloacal exstrophy. A review of published cases suggests that this may be the first example of a complete dip hall us with displacement of bladder coexisting with the hindgut duplication and imperforate anus.