Background. Groove pancreatitis or paraduodenal pancreatitis represents a rare type of pancreatitis, and can be classified into cystic dystrophy of the duodenal wall in heterotopic pancreas, paraduodenal cyst or myoadenomatosis.
Case presentation. We present a case of a 58 year old man, drinker and smoker who was admitted in the Department of Gastroenterology for abdominal pain, weight loss and nausea. From his history we have noticed frequent presentations of recurrent acute pancreatitis in the last two years. Laboratory tests have revealed cholestasis, high value of lipase and high value of amylase, with normal value of CA 19.9. The magnetic resonance from the last two years showed the same appearances: a large and edematous head of pancreas, a thickening of the wall of adjacent duodenum and an inhomogeneous area with cystic transformation in the head of the pancreas. We performed endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration. The histopathological result showed only inflammatory cells. We have established the diagnosis of groove pancreatitis.
Conclusion. Groove pancreatitis represents a rare condition, with an incidence of 0.4%-14% on biopsies. Endoscopic ultrasound is the best method for diagnosis, it could evaluate also the duodenal wall.
