Groove pancreatitis: a case report with a brief review of this diagnostic challenge.

Abstract

Groove Pancreatitis is an uncommon and still under-recognized form of recurrent or chronic pancreatitis that involves the space between the pancreatic head, the duodenum and the common bile duct, the so called groove area. Its importance is that it can mimic pancreatic carcinoma, it may coexist with it or even masks it and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic masses or duodenal stenosis. Groove Pancreatitis represents a diagnostic challenge because, from a clinical point of view, its manifestations and complications can be numerous and different from each other. Despite modern imaging techniques, even in the most specialized centers, many untrained radiologists and gastroenterologists may encounter difficulty to make the proper diagnosis. In this work, we have described a case Groove Pancreatitis manifesting as flare up of previously diagnosed chronic pancreatitis and we have tried to make a brief revision of literature concerning diagnosis and treatment of the disease.