Patients with chronic pancreatitis experience substantial impairments in health-related quality of life. The severity of chronic pancreatitis-related symptoms is directly associated with patient function and well-being. These data offer further insight into the impact of chronic pancreatitis on patient health status and may serve as the basis for the development of disease-specific instruments, which are needed to measure the effect of therapeutic interventions on patient-derived health outcomes.

Patients with chronic pancreatitis experience substantial deteriorations in health-related quality of life compared with the general population. The Short Form-36 proved to be a feasible, reliable and valid measure for descriptive studies of patients with chronic pancreatitis, but ceiling effects may limit its usefulness as an outcome measure in the assessment of treatment effects.

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy enhances endoscopic measures for treatment of pancreatic duct stones when mechanical lithotripsy fails. Middle-aged patients in the early stages of chronic pancreatitis with stones in a prepapillary location proved to be the best candidates for successful treatment. Unfavorable patient-related or morphologic factors can be compensated for through more intense efforts at therapy.

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Temporary stent placement as a part of interventional endoscopic therapy in CP shows a high rate of technical and long-term clinical success, with no need for secondary treatment in a remarkable number of patients. Continued cessation of alcohol consumption supports the treatment benefit significantly.