Pancreatic function testing for the early diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis

Chronic pancreatitis is a syndrome.1 Not all disease syndromes have a single specific diagnostic test that corroborates the diagnosis but instead rely on a combination of clinical, laboratory, imaging, and pathologic characteristics in various combinations to define the disease (eg, systemic lupus erythematosus). Chronic pancreatitis occurs in patients with genetic, environmental, and other risk factors; has a diversity of mechanisms; and is associated with a wide variety of clinical features. In the past, chronic pancreatitis was defined only by the presence of specific morphologic changes (imaging features such as pancreatic calcification, or histologic characteristics demonstrating fibrosis) or by functional changes (gland failure with pancreatic exocrine or endocrine insufficiency).

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