Abstract
Objective: To find out whether pancreatic juice released into the stomach has any effect on gastric acidity, and to evaluate the results of operation. Design: Prospective study. Setting: University Hospital, Hungary. Subjects: 55 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Interventions: 27 pancreaticogastrostomies, 8 pancreaticocystogastrostomies, and 20 pancreaticojejunostomies. Gastric pH monitoring. Main outcome measures: Alterations in pH after pancreaticogastrostomy. Results: The operations were equally effective for the relief of pain (48/55, 87%) and 46 (84%) had no digestive disorders because they took pancreatic enzyme substitutes. There were no significant differences in gastric pH between the groups. Conclusions: Although this study was not randomised, the results suggest that pancreaticogastrostomy is a good operation for the relief of intractable pain in selected patients with chronic pancreatitis associated with duct dilatation.