Constitutional Syndrome, Ascites and Duodenal Thickening Presenting as Groove Pancreatitis

Authors

• Jose Maria Frutos Perez Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Francesc de Borja, Gandia, Valencia, Spain
• Mariam Perea Ribis Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Francesc de Borja, Gandia, Valencia, Spain
• Maria Angeles Martinez Pascual Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Francesc de Borja, Gandia, Valencia, Spain
• Marina Llopis Sanchis Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Francesc de Borja, Gandia, Valencia, Spain
• Carlos Tornero Estebanez Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Francesc de Borja, Gandia, Valencia, Spain

jmafrutos100@gmail.com

Keywords

Abstract

Groove pancreatitis (GP) is a very infrequent subtype of chronic pancreatitis affecting the pancreatic-duodenal junction. It usually manifests in middle-aged men with a history of chronic alcoholism, though it has also been described in women and in individuals who do not consume alcohol^[1]. Even though the underlying etiology is unclear, chronic alcohol consumption is known to increase the viscosity of the pancreatic juice and exacerbate the inflammatory process^[2]. We present a case of GP that posed diagnostic difficulties because it manifested as ascites and duodenal thickening, with pancreatic imaging findings initially normal.