A Retrospective Administrative Database Analysis of Suicide Attempts and Completed Suicide in Patients With Chronic Pancreatitis

Addressing long-term mortality risk in patients undergoing total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplant (TPIAT): causes of death and risk factors

BACKGROUND

Total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplant (TPIAT) can improve quality of life for individuals with pancreatitis but creates health risks including diabetes, exocrine insufficiency, altered intestinal anatomy and function, and asplenia.

METHODS

We studied survival and causes of death for 693 patients who underwent TPIAT between 2001 and 2020, using the National Death Index with medical records to ascertain survival after TPIAT, causes of mortality, and risk factors for death. We used Kaplan Meier curves to examine overall survival, and Cox regression and competing-risks methods to determine pre-TPIAT factors associated with all-cause and cause-specific post-TPIAT mortality.

RESULTS

Mean age at TPIAT was 33.6 years (SD = 15.1). Overall survival was 93.1% (95% CI 91.2, 95.1%) 5 years after surgery, 85.2% (95% CI 82.0, 88.6%) at 10 years, and 76.2% (95% CI 70.8, 82.3%) at 15 years. Fifty-three of 89 deaths were possibly related to TPIAT; causes included chronic gastrointestinal complications, malnutrition, diabetes, liver failure, and infection/sepsis. In multivariable models, younger age, longer disease duration, and more recent TPIAT were associated with lower mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

For patients undergoing TPIAT to treat painful pancreatitis, careful long-term management of comorbidities introduced by TPIAT may reduce risk for common causes of mortality.

Managing complications of chronic pancreatitis: a guide for the gastroenterologist

INTRODUCTION

Chronic pancreatitis is a heterogeneous and complex syndrome that, in most cases, causes pain as a cardinal symptom and affects both the morphology and function of the pancreas, leading to several serious complications.

AREAS COVERED

The present review, based on a non-systematic PubMed search updated to June 2023, aims to present the current available evidence on the role of gastroenterologists in the diagnosis and treatment of both local and systemic complications by either endoscopic or medical treatments.

EXPERT OPINION

At diagnosis and during chronic pancreatitis follow-up, particular care is needed to consider not only the clinically manifest signs and symptoms of the disease, such as pain, jaundice, gastrointestinal obstruction, and pseudocysts, which require multidisciplinary discussion to establish the best treatment option (endoscopic or surgical), but also less evident systemic complications. Pancreatic exocrine and endocrine insufficiency, together with chronic inflammation, addiction, and dysbiosis, contribute to malnutrition, sarcopenia, and osteopathy. These complications, in turn, increase the risk of infection, thromboembolic events, and death. Patients with chronic pancreatitis also have an increased risk of psychiatric disorders and pancreatic cancer onset. Overall, patients with chronic pancreatitis should receive a holistic evaluation, considering all these aspects, possibly through multidisciplinary care in dedicated expert centers.

Prevalence of depression among patients with Chronic Pancreatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Chronic Pancreatitis (CP) is a fibroinflammatory condition with debilitating symptoms. Quality of life is severely affected in patients with CP and they are likely to suffer from mental health disorders, including depression. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression in patients with CP.

METHODS

MEDLINE (OVID), PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL Complete, Scopus and Web of Science were searched until July 2022 to identify manuscripts reporting the prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression (diagnosed clinically or with a validated scale without language restriction) in patients with Chronic Pancreatitis. The pooled prevalence was calculated using a random effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed by the inconsistency index (I2).

RESULTS

Among 3647 articles identified, 58 studies were identified for full text review, and ultimately nine studies were included. A total of 87136 patients were included in the studies. Depression was diagnosed clinically or symptoms were identified using validated scales including Center for Epidemiological Studies 10-item Depression Scale (CESD), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The overall prevalence of depression in patients with chronic pancreatitis was 36.2% (95%CI: 18.8-55.7). In the stratified analysis, depression prevalence according to the clinical diagnosis, BDI and HADS was 30.10%, 48.17% and 36.61%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The high prevalence of depression among patients with CP deserves a call-to-action due to its medical implications and worsening quality of life. Our findings raise awareness of the importance of screening patients with CP for mental health disorders. Further well-designed studies are needed to further characterize these findings.

Psychological Evaluation and Management of Chronic Pancreatitis

Chronic pancreatitis is a chronic digestive disorder that greatly diminishes the quality of life and is associated with significant psychological distress. A best practice recommendation in treating chronic pancreatitis is offering care in a multidisciplinary model that includes access to a behavioral health provider among other medical professionals. Behavioral interventions for patients with chronic pancreatitis have promise to improve the management of pain, comorbid psychiatric symptoms, and quality of life. If surgical interventions such as a total pancreatectomy islet autotransplant are considered, evaluating and mitigating psychosocial risk factors may aid the selection of appropriate candidates.

Indian Outpatients with Idiopathic Chronic Pancreatitis Have Catastrophic Healthcare Expenditure, Malnutrition, Anxiety/Depression and Work-Impairment

INTRODUCTION

There is paucity of data regarding economic burden, employment affection, psychological and nutritional status of CP patients, of non-alcoholic etiology, especially during their periods of stable disease, i.e., without any complications and/or recent endoscopic/surgical interventions.

METHODS

In a prospective cohort study, conducted in outpatient clinic of a tertiary-care hospital, 66 consecutive adults with Idiopathic CP (± diabetes) and 152 matched (by age, socioeconomic status and monthly income) healthy controls were assessed for: (1) healthcare expenses in previous month by recall (catastrophic if > 40% of income); (2) nutritional status by anthropometry and food frequency questionnaire; (3) psychological status by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); and (4) work-impairment by work productivity and activity impairment questionnaire: general health (WPAI-GH). CP patients were again reassessed for the above parameters after 6 and 12 month, respectively.

RESULTS

Seventy-six percent CP patients (vis-à-vis 0% controls) had catastrophic healthcare expenditure. Forty-nine percent of CP patients(vis-à-vis 0% controls) met their healthcare expenses by either selling assets or obtaining loans at high-interest or from charitable donations. CP patients had lower BMI, were more likely to be malnourished and had a lower calorie intake vis-à-vis controls (median (IQR) recommended daily allowance (RDA): 71(19)% vs 97(23)%; [p < 0.0001]). Their median HADS Anxiety and depression scores were significantly higher than controls. Thirty-one (47%) CP patients were employed vis-a-vis 102 (67%) controls (p = 0.006); they had significantly higher work impairment. After one year, there was improvement in some of these above parameters in CP patients.

CONCLUSION

Idiopathic CP outpatients had catastrophic healthcare expenditure, malnutrition, abnormal psychological scores and work-impairment vis-à-vis healthy controls. Some of these parameters improved on follow-up.

Multidisciplinary Care for Adults With Chronic Pancreatitis: Incorporating Psychological Therapies to Optimize Outcomes

ABSTRACT

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is associated with a high disease burden, extensive negative impact on quality of life, increased rates of depression and anxiety, and significant health care utilization and expenditures. Pain is a hallmark feature of CP, present in up to 90% of patients with this condition, and can lead to high rates of disability, hospitalization, and opioid medication use. Current perspectives on the management of CP have evolved to advocate a multidisciplinary approach which offers new pathways for helping patients manage symptoms. Psychologists play an important role in a multidisciplinary team effort by applying scientifically based psychological principles and techniques to improve pain and adaptation to chronic illness. This review will detail the fundamentals of delivering psychological interventions for adults with CP managed in an outpatient setting. Recommendations for integrating psychological care in multidisciplinary management of CP will be offered. Future directions for psychological care in CP multidisciplinary teams are also discussed.

The effect of cholecystectomy on the risk of acute myocardial infarction in patients with gallbladder stones

Objectives: To investigate the effect of cholecystectomy on the subsequent risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients with gallbladder stones (GBS).Methods: We used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) for hospitalization to conduct a retrospective nationwide population-based cohort study. The study cohort consisted of a total of 122,421 patients aged ≥20 years with cholecystectomy for GBS between 2000 and 2010. The control cohort consisted of the GBS patients without cholecystectomy and they were randomly selected by propensity score matching with the study cohort at a 1:1 ratio according to age, sex, occupation category, urbanization level, comorbidities, and year of the index date for cholecystectomy. We measured the incidence of AMI for both cohorts.Results: The cumulative incidence of AMI was lower in GB patients with cholecystectomy than that in those without cholecystectomy (2.26 vs 3.28 per 1000 person-years, adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.61-0.69). Compared to those without cholecystectomy, the risk of developing AMI after cholecystectomy was 0.69 (95% CI = 0.63-0.76) for the first year, 0.69 (95% CI = 0.63-0.77) for 2-5 years, and 0.59 (95% CI = 0.53-0.66) for ≥5 years, respectively.Conclusions: Our findings indicate cholecystectomy ameliorates the risk of AMI in patients with GBS, and the protective effect tends to increase with incremental duration of follow-up. However, it needs more studies to ascertain the protective mechanisms of cholecystectomy against AMI.

The Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients with Gallstones

The objective of this study is to assess the relationship between gallstones and venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), and the risk of VTE after cholecystectomy for gallstones. This nationwide population-based cohort study retrieved the hospitalization database from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Research Database (LHID2000), a database belonging to the National Health Insurance (NHI) program of Taiwan. A total of 345,793 patients aged ≥ 18 years with gallstones diagnosed between 2000 and 2010 were identified as the study cohort. The beneficiaries without gallstones were randomly selected as the control cohort by propensity score matching with the study cohort at a 1:1 ratio based on age, sex, urbanization, occupation, comorbidities, and year of the index date. We compared the risk of VTE between both cohorts and measured the risk differences of VTE between the gallstones patients with (n = 194,187) and without cholecystectomy (n = 151,606). Each patient was examined from the index date until the occurrence of DVT or PE, death or withdrawal from the NHI program, or the end of 2011. The incidence rate of DVT was 7.94/10,000 person-years for the non-gallstones cohort and 9.64/10,000 person-years for the gallstones cohort (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.25–1.47), respectively (p < 0.001). The incidence rate of PE was 3.92/10,000 person-years for the non-gallstones cohort and 4.65/10,000 person-years for the gallstones cohort (HR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.20–1.53), respectively (p < 0.001). The cumulative incidence of DVT (6.54/10,000 person-years vs 14.6/10,000 person-years, adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.54–0.67) and PE (3.29/10,000 person-years vs 6.84/10,000 person-years, aHR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.58–0.77) for gallstones patients was lower in the cholecystectomy cohort than that in the non-cholecystectomy cohort after adjustment for age, sex, urbanization level, occupation, frequency of medical visits, history of pregnancy, and comorbidities (log-rank test, p < 0.001). Our findings indicate that the risk of DVT or PE in patients with gallstones was greater than those without gallstones. However, the risk of DVT and PE in the patients with gallstones would decrease after cholecystectomy. This area of research needs more studies to ascertain the pathogenesis for the contribution of gallstones to the development of VTE and the protective mechanisms of cholecystectomy against the development of VTE.

Risk of head and neck cancer after chronic pancreatitis

Background

To evaluate the relation of head and neck cancer to chronic pancreatitis by analyzing Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database.

Methods

We identified 11,237 patients with chronic pancreatitis as the case cohort, which was propensity score matched with another 11,237 patients without chronic pancreatitis by sex, age, index year, and comorbidities. We followed both cohorts between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2011 to measure the incidence of head and neck cancer.

Results

Compared with patients without chronic pancreatitis, those with chronic pancreatitis were associated a greater risk of head and neck cancer [adjusted HR (aHR) =1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07–1.60] and had a higher incidence of head and neck cancer (log-rank test, P<0.001). The experimental event rate of head and neck cancer for the chronic pancreatitis cohort was 1.90% (213/11,237) and control event rate of head and neck cancer for the non-chronic pancreatitis cohort was 1.60% (180/11,237), respectively. Therefore, the chronic pancreatitis cohort had a 0.30% of absolute risk increase and approximately 333 of number needed to harm for the development of head and neck cancer, respectively. Compared with the individuals without chronic pancreatitis and any other comorbidity, the risk of head and neck cancer for the chronic pancreatitis patients without comorbidities was 2.79 folds and the risk increased to 4.32, 3.33, 3.22, 4.44, and 5.78 folds in the presence of any one, any two, any three, any four, and more than five comorbidities, respectively.

Conclusions

Chronic pancreatitis is related to an increased risk of head and neck cancer, and the presence of comorbidity increases the risk more. It requires more studies to find more co-existing risk factors or comorbidities to recommend a screening program for the CP patients. Moreover, it needs more studies to ascertain the pathogenesis for the aforementioned association and the limited knowledge of the patients' smoking habits and alcohol drinking is the major limitation of this observational study.

Association of Cholecystectomy with the Risk of Prostate Cancer in Patients with Gallstones

Objectives: To assess the association of cholecystectomy with the risk of prostate cancer in patients with gallstones. Methods: This nationwide population-based cohort study was conducted by retrieving the Longitudinal Health Insurance Research Database (LHID2000) for inpatient claims in the Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) program. The study cohort consisted of 72,606 men aged ≥ 20 years with gallstones undergoing cholecystectomy between 2000 and 2010. The control cohort consisted of the men with gallstones, but without cholecystectomy, by 1:1 propensity score matching with the study cohort based on age, sex, urbanization, occupation, comorbidities, and the index date. We compared the hazard ratio of prostate cancer between both of the cohorts. Results: The incidence of prostate cancer was 0.76/1000 person-years for the non-cholecystectomy cohort and 1.28/1000 person-years for the cholecystectomy cohort [aHR (adjusted hazard ratio) = 1.67, 95% confidence interval (CI = 1.45–1.92), respectively (p < 0.001). When compared with the non-cholecystectomy cohort, the hazard ratio of prostate cancer for the cholecystectomy cohort was 1.49-fold greater (95% CI = 1.04–2.11) for follow-up ≤ 1 year, 1.52-fold greater (95% CI = 1.24–1.86) for follow-up 1–5 years, and 1.99-fold greater (95% CI = 1.56–2.53) for follow-up > 5 years, respectively. Conclusions: Cholecystectomy is associated with an increased hazard ratio of prostate cancer in gallstones patients, and the risk increases with an incremental period of follow-up. This observational study cannot ascertain the detrimental mechanisms of cholecystectomy for the development of prostate cancer, and cholecystectomy is not recommended for the prevention of prostate cancer based on our study.

Frequency and risk factors for mental disorders following pancreatitis: a nationwide cohort study

Objective: To investigate the frequency and risk factors for mental disorders following pancreatitis. Methods: Patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP) were identified (n = 18,074) from a nationwide database in New Zealand (1998-2015). They were followed from their first hospital admissions for AP or CP to incident mental disorders. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using multivariable Cox regression analyses. Results: CP (vs AP) was associated with a significantly higher risk of mental disorders (adjusted HR = 2.00 [95% CI = 1.53-2.62]). Pre-existing diabetes (adjusted HR = 8.99 [95% CI = 6.23-12.96] for AP and adjusted HR = 3.42 [95% CI = 2.37-4.96] for CP) and post-pancreatitis diabetes mellitus (adjusted HR = 7.10 [95% CI = 4.14-12.19] for AP and adjusted HR = 2.97 [95% CI = 1.83-4.82] for CP) were risk factors for mental disorders in individuals following pancreatitis. Severe (adjusted HR = 2.07 [95% CI = 1.39-3.06] vs mild) and recurrent (adjusted HR = 1.62 [95% CI = 1.07-2.45] vs single episode) attacks were associated with significantly higher risks of mental disorders following AP. Conclusions: Patients following CP, recurrent AP, severe AP, and those with diabetes are at high risk for developing mental disorders.