Cohort profile: detailed characteristics of patients with first-time acute pancreatitis in a 10-year single centre consecutive cohort in southern Sweden (DeCAP)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Purpose The Detailed Characteristics of a first-time Acute Pancreatitis (DeCAP) cohort was established to study both short-term and long-term outcomes following acute pancreatitis. In addition, the DeCAP study enables comprehensive evaluation of risk factors contributing to the onset of acute pancreatitis as well as determinants of disease severity. Participants The DeCAP is an unselected population-based cohort of consecutive patients with first-time acute pancreatitis at Skåne University Hospital, Sweden, between 2009–2018. It contains 2188 patients with incident acute pancreatitis. Detailed review of medical records was conducted for all identified patients at index admission up to 31 December 2024 to obtain follow-up data. Recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis, including treatment, severity classification and aetiology as well as development of chronic pancreatitis or diabetes were recorded until death, emigration or end of study. Findings to date Our results showed that the proportion of patients with moderately severe or severe disease differs by aetiologies. Also, patients who experienced moderately severe or severe pancreatitis during their first episode had fivefold higher likelihood of developing moderately severe or severe disease during a subsequent episode compared with patients whose initial event was classified as mild. Future plans The DeCAP cohort combined with Sweden’s unique national health registries will be used in future studies to investigate short-term and long-term follow-up to identify risk factors present at the index admission that may influence individual disease trajectories. Improved risk stratification is essential to enable more individualised follow-up strategies aimed at optimising long-term outcomes while minimising unnecessary resource use. Specifically, the studies will assess short-term and long-term mortality, morbidity and disease recurrence related to individual risk factors. In addition, the impact of socioeconomic factors and ethnicity on these outcomes will be evaluated.
Source: BMJ Open
Institutions: Lund University, Skåne University Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,839
OpenAlex ID: W7223105339