Telephone-Based Mindfulness Therapy Intervention for Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) have substantially impaired quality of life (QOL) both physically and mentally. Mindfulness therapy is a form of treatment that has been shown to be beneficial in many medical conditions but has not been evaluated in the CP patient population. AIMS: The aims of this study were (1) to test the feasibility and usability of a novel telephone-based mindfulness therapy service for patients with CP and (2) to determine whether there was any effect on CP quality of life. METHODS: We recruited ten patients with suspected or confirmed CP and five controls who were asked to utilize our telephone-based mindfulness therapy service daily for 28 days. Feasibility of the service was defined as the fraction of subjects with a ≥50% compliance rate. Usability was assessed using a System Usability Scale (SUS). QOL was evaluated using the SF-36 questionnaire and the Pancreatitis Quality of Life Instrument (PANQOLI). Paired t tests were used to compare the SF-36 and PANQOLI pre- and post-intervention. RESULTS: There was an overall compliance rate of 67%. The mean SUS score for all participants was 79.3, above the average published score of 68. Results showed a significant improvement in the SF-36 Mental Component Summary scores after 28 days of mindfulness therapy for patients with CP, t(9) = 2.48, p = 0.035. There was also a significant improvement in the mean total PANQOLI scores in CP patients, t(9) = 2.41, p = 0.04, most notably in the social domain. CONCLUSION: Our telephone-based mindfulness therapy service represents a feasible and easily usable treatment adjunct for patients with CP, which may provide benefit in QOL by improving mental health-related domains.

[Improving the quality of life in patients with chronic pancreatitis by using the alternative methods of correction].

SUMMARY The article concerns the study of the quality of life of 64 patients on chronic pancreatitis under the influence of correction programs with the inclusion dyadinamic electroneurostimulation on the proposed schemes. It was found that the level of quality of life in chronic pancreatitis under the influence of conventional regimens have increased by an average of 29.1%, with inclusion of zonal schemes dyadinamic electroneurostimulation 48.9%, and after the application of wire method dyadinamic electroneurostimulation--by 54.6 %. This confirms reliable the inclusion of different types dyadinamic electroneurostimulation in complex rehabilitation of patients with chronic pancreatitis.

Long-term follow-up of a randomized clinical trial comparing Beger with pylorus-preserving Whipple procedure for chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: Duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection according to Beger and the pylorus-preserving Whipple (ppWhipple) procedure were compared in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) in a randomized clinical trial. Perioperative data and short-term outcome have been reported previously. The present study evaluated long-term follow-up. METHODS: Forty patients were enrolled originally, 20 in each group. Long-term follow-up included mortality, morbidity, pain status, occupational rehabilitation, quality of life (QoL), and endocrine and exocrine function at median follow-up of 7 and 14 years. RESULTS: One patient who had a ppWhipple procedure was lost to follow-up. There were five late deaths in each group. No differences were noted in pain status and exocrine pancreatic function. Loss of appetite was significantly worse in the ppWhipple group at 14 years' follow-up, but there were no other differences in QoL parameters examined. After 14 years, diabetes mellitus was present in seven of 15 patients who had the Beger procedure and 11 of 14 patients after ppWhipple resection (P = 0.128). CONCLUSION: After long-term follow-up of up to 14 years early advantages of the Beger procedure were no longer present.