Annular pancreas
pancreas disease characterized by autosomal dominant inheritance of the annular pancreas (head of the pancreas forming a ring around the second portion of the duodenum) and duodenal stenosis
Annular pancreas is a rare condition in which the second part of the duodenum is surrounded by a ring of pancreatic tissue continuous with the head of the pancreas. This portion of the pancreas can constrict the duodenum and block or impair the flow of food to the rest of the intestines. It is estimated to occur in 1 out of 12,000 to 15,000 newborns. The ambiguity arises from the fact that not all cases are symptomatic.
Signs and symptoms
Early signs of abnormality include polyhydramnios (an excess of amniotic fluid), low birth weight, and feeding intolerance immediately after birth, in particular a tendency to develop epigastric distention associated with non-biliary vomiting (the obstruction is generally above the papilla of Vater, therefore superior to the junction with the bile ducts).
Different chromosomal diseases (for example trisomy 21 and, with a minor frequency, trisomy 18 and trisomy 13) are present in about 33% of subjects affected by annular pancreas.
Causes
When ventral pancreatic bud splits and encircles the duodenum leads to a construction in the duodenum
Diagnosis
Postnatal diagnostic procedures include abdominal x-ray and ultrasound, CT scan, and upper GI and small bowel series.
Abdominal radiography can show the classic sign of the "double bubble": the presence of air in the stomach and duodenum. Unfortunately, this double-bubble sign is not pathognomonic for annular pancreas, as it can also be observed in other conditions, such as duodenal atresia and intestinal malrotation.
Upper GI series may be suggestive of annular pancreas, especially if they show a duodenal narrowing of the second portion of the duodenum and the concomitant dilatation of the proximal duodenum.
“Annular pancreas” enters the record as pancreas disease characterized by autosomal dominant inheritance of the annular pancreas (head of the pancreas forming a ring around the second portion of the duodenum) and duodenal stenosis. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Annular, pancreas and disease can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Annular pancreas” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.