Chronic pancreatitis physical examination

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Iqra Qamar M.D.[2]

Overview

Patients with chronic pancreatitis may assume a characteristic position in an attempt to relieve their abdominal pain such as lying on the left side, flexing the spine, drawing the knees up toward the chest. Patients with steatorrhea or advanced disease may present as loss of subcutaneous fat, temporal wasting and sunken supraclavicular fossa. Skin findings may include jaundice, pallor and bruises.

Physical Examination

Appearance of the Patient

Patients with acute on chronic pancreatitis may assume a characteristic position in an attempt to relieve their abdominal pain:
- Lying on the left side
- Flexing the spine
- Drawing the knees up toward the chest
Patients with steatorrhea or advanced disease may present as
- Loss of subcutaneous fat
- Temporal wasting
- Sunken supraclavicular fossa
- Other physical signs of malnutrition

Skin

Jaundice
Pallor
Bruises

By Herbert L. Fred, MD and Hendrik A. van Dijk (http://cnx.org/content/m14904/latest/) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By Herbert L. Fred, MD and Hendrik A. van Dijk (http://cnx.org/content/m14942/latest/) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Abdomen

A palpable abdominal mass in the epigastrium

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