Evaluation of quality of life and social anxiety in children with acute and acute recurrent pancreatitis

Introduction and Aim: Acute pancreatitis and acute recurrent pancreatitis severely impair quality of life in children. It is possible that symptoms such as long painful episodes may limit daily activities, especially in the pediatric age group, leading to a decrease in quality of life. Studies in the literature which measure quality of life or anxiety levels in pediatric patients with acute pancreatitis and acute recurrent pancreatitis are limited. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life and anxiety levels in pediatric acute pancreatitis and acute recurrent pancreatitis patients with children in the healthy control group. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients with acute pancreatitis, 20 patients with acute recurrent pancreatitis, and 40 healthy volunteers (aged 8-18 years) who applied to the Afyon Kocatepe University Medical Faculty Children's Health and Diseases Department were included into the study. The age, sex, Quality of Life and Social Anxiety Scale scores of the study group were recorded. The independent groups t-test, ANOVA, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare the mean/median values of groups, according to number of groups and normality of distribution. Results: Acute pancreatitis, recurrent acute pancreatitis and control group were similar in terms of age and sex (p> 0.05). Social Anxiety Scale scores were lower in the control group compared to the other two groups (p <0.001). When the scores of the Quality of Life Scale in children were compared, it was found that the control group had lower physical health score (p <0.001), psychosocial health score (p <0.001) and total score (p <0.001) than the other two groups. No significant difference was found between the scores of acute pancreatitis and acute recurrent pancreatitis groups. Discussion and Conclusion: Children with acute pancreatitis and acute recurrent pancreatitis were found to have lower quality of life and higher social anxiety scores. When the literature is examined, it is observed that studies in this field are insufficient. It has been noted that the quality of life in chronic pancreatitis cases in the pediatric age group is lower than healthy children. The low quality of life in children with acute pancreatitis or acute recurrent pancreatitis suggests that the psychological state and treatment of these patients should receive emphasis. We believe that clinicians should be aware of this issue, and the hypothesis should be tested in larger study groups and further studies. Key Words: Acute pancreatitis, acute recurrent pancreatitis, quality of life in children, social anxiety in children