Active clinical trials for "Pancreatitis"

Acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by common bile duct (CBD) stones or sludge, which requires prompt diagnosis and treatment by endoscopic removal of the material. Accurate detection of CBD stones is warranted to select patients for early therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). In clinical practice the decision to perform an ERCP is often based on biochemical and radiological criteria despite they already have been shown to be unreliable predictors of CBD stone presence. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is not currently a worldwide standard diagnostic procedure early in the course of acute biliary pancreatitis, but it has been shown to be accurate, safe and cost effective in diagnosing biliary obstructions compared with magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and ERCP and therefore in preventing unnecessary ERCP and its related complications. The investigators aim to investigate the clinical usefulness of early EUS in the management of ABP. All consecutive patients entering the emergency department due to acute abdominal pain and showing biochemical and/or radiological findings consistent with possible ABP will be prospectively enrolled. Patients will be classified as having a low, moderate, or high probability of CBD stones, according to established risk stratification. All enrolled patients will undergo EUS within 48 h of their admission. ERCP will be performed immediately after EUS only in those cases with proven CBD stones or sludge. The following parameters will be investigated: (1) clinical: age, sex, fever; (2) radiological: dilated CBD, (3) biochemical: bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma glutamyl transferase (gGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), amylase, lipases, C-reactive protein (CRP). Association between presence of CBD stone at EUS and the individual predictors were assessed by univariate logistic regression. Predictors significantly associated with CBD stones (p<0.05) will enter in a multivariate logistic regression model.

This study is testing whether the addition of a noninvasive form of brain stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) when combined with meditation helps decrease the abdominal pain in patients with chronic pancreatitis. The device involved in this study, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is investigational. This means that the study device is still being tested in research studies and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA].

The study purpose is to characterize the effect of pancreatic enzyme supplementation on chronic pancreatitis type pain.

The major clinical features of chronic pancreatitis include glandular (exocrine and endocrine) failure and pain. Pain has remained a major clinical challenge and is present in up to 90% of patients and is the primary cause of hospitalization in most patients. Unfortunately, pain in chronic pancreatitis has been very difficult to treat. The investigators hypothesize that the best method to reliably abolish peripheral nerve signaling is the use of a local anesthetic within the target organ (i.e. pancreas). This can best be done during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Since ERCP is done under deep sedation or general anesthesia, it is critical to select a local anesthetic whose effect persists well after recovery from the procedure; if not, the assessment of the effect of the local anesthetic on pain will be impossible to assess. The investigators have therefore chosen liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel, Pacira Pharmaceuticals), which is an FDA approved product for local infiltration that has a longer duration of action (up to 72 hours) and a slower absorption into the systemic circulation, avoiding high plasma concentrations.

13C breath di-peptide tests are an effective non-invasive tool to detect pancreatic exocrine function in patients with Chronic Pancreatitis.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is a condition where the pancreas does not have enough pancreatic enzymes to break down food. Some symptoms of EPI are frequent gas/bloating, unexplained stomach pains, frequent diarrhea, and foul-smelling, greasy stools. The purpose of this study is to see how effective CREON is for treating symptoms of EPI due to causes other than cystic fibrosis (CF), chronic pancreatitis (CP), pancreatectomy (PY), or pancreatic cancer (PC). CREON (Pancrelipase) is an approved drug used to treat people who cannot digest food normally due to their pancreas not making enough enzymes. Adult participants with a diagnosis of EPI due to causes other than CF, CP, PY, or PC will be enrolled. Around 50 participants will be enrolled in approximately 20 sites in the United States. Participants will receive oral CREON capsules with each meal and snack beginning at Day 1 for 27 weeks. There may be higher treatment burden for participants in this trial compared to their standard of care. Participants will attend regular visits during the course of the study at a hospital or a clinic. Participants will need to be confined for 2 separate periods of 6 to 8 days each to measure Co-efficient of Fat Absorption (during screening and after enrollment). The effect of the treatment will be checked by medical assessments, blood and stool tests, checking for side effects and completing questionnaires.

This is a prospective, descriptive, observational research study designed to observe and document the clinical practice by domain experts, and how the knowledge of new findings that are published in the medical literature affect clinical decision making. The study will evaluate risk factors and co-variants, including genetic variants that are associated with disease progression such as pain, inflammation, organ dysfunction, disability and quality of life.

This research is being done to see if using a combination of rectal indomethacin and epinephrine spray during endoscopy, can prevent pancreatitis that may occur after ERCP (a type of gastrointestinal endoscopy).

Postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis is the most frequent and serious complication of ERCP procedures, occurring in approximately 5-15% of unselected patients. Pharmacologic prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis has been the topic of several investigations in recent years. Hydration is considered a mainstay of treatment for acute pancreatitis. We perform multicenter, prospective, randomized trial to investigate whether intravenous vigorous hydration with lactated Ringer's solution reduces the risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis. Inclusion criteria : consecutive patients older than 18 years who are scheduled to undergo diagnostic or therapeutic ERCP will be recruited. Patients will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either vigorous hydration (treatment arm) or standard hydration (standard arm). Randomization will be performed in a double blinded fashion using computer-generated random numbers. Treatment arm (vigorous hydration arm); Initial bolus of lactated Ringer's solution at 10 mL/kg over 1 hour prior to ERCP Intravenous lactated Ringer's solution at a rate of 3 mL/kg/h during the procedure and continued for 8 hours. At the end of ERCP, post-procedure bolus of lactated Ringer's solution at 10 mL/Kg over 1hour Standard arm (standard hydration arm); Patients will receive lactated Ringer's solution at the start of the ERCP and the fluids will be administered at a rate of 1.5 ml/kg/h during the procedure and for 8hours after ERCP. The primary endpoint was development of post-ERCP pancreatitis, which define as increased pancreatic pain (more than 3 on a visual analogue pain scale) and hyperamylasemia (three times the upper limit of normal). The secondary endpoint included the development of asymptomatic hyperamylasemia, severity of pancreatitis, and fluid overload.

The role of complement system in bridging innate and adaptive immunity has been confirmed in various invasive pathogens. The aim of this study is to investigate the alteration of complement C3 in patients with severe abdominal sepsis and evaluate the role of complement C3 depletion in prognosis of such patients. The relationship between complement C3 depletion and adaptive immunity is studied meanwhile.