Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. It can be either acute, producing temporary symptoms, or chronic, leading to long-term damage.

Acute pancreatitis is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases encountered in emergency departments. There remains no specific treatment for this disease, which can be severe and even cause death in a small number of cases.

Chronic pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas that does not heal or improve—it gets worse over time and leads to permanent damage.

Associate Professor Savio George Barreto has received a Flinders Foundation Health Seed Grant to evaluate the impact of pancreatitis in South Australia and the Northern Territory from epidemiological and economic perspectives.

A/Prof Barreto said his team’s study, based at Flinders University, would lead to better outcomes for people with pancreatitis.

“We seek to objectively quantify the disease burden of pancreatitis in South Australia and the Northern Territory by linking clinical and administrative datasets at state and national level over a 12-year period,” A/Prof Barreto said.

“The benefits to health services and patients include quantification of caseload and health resource expenditure, which will inform more effective resource allocation and serve as a baseline for subsequent evaluation of innovative management strategies.

“It will also identify specific patient sub-groups that would benefit from tailored quality improvement protocols, including preventive measures.”

Research category: Public Health

Project title: Pancreatitis in South Australia and the Northern Territory: Quantifying the Epidemiological and Economic Burden of Disease

Lead researcher: A/Prof Savio George Barreto