Importance of a careful clinical evaluation in the diagnosis of cystic pancreatic tumors.

Introduction: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) are a rare group of pancreatic neoplasms. Often are asymptomatic and, when are symptomatic, patients complain sensation of weight in the abdomen or compression at the neighboring structures. In many cases the diagnosis is incidental, during a CT or MR performed for other raisons.

Case report: We report a case of a 59-year-old woman with diagnosis of post-pancreatitis pseudocyst who, instead, was affected by an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), treated by us with pancreatoduodenectomy.

Discussion: The diagnosis of IPMN has increased in recent years thanks to an improvement in radiological investigation. The study of pancreatic lesions must be very careful and it is absolutely necessary that diagnostic imaging be accompanied by a correct clinical evaluation of the patient.

Conclusion: A thorough anamnesis is required in patient with history of acute pancreatitis to avoid the mistake of exchanging an IPMN for a pseudocyst.