Published online Nov 28, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i44.5034
Peer-review started: September 10, 2018
First decision: October 24, 2018
Revised: October 29, 2018
Accepted: November 9, 2018
Article in press: November 9, 2018
Published online: November 28, 2018
Core tip: In this large number, nationwide population-based cohort study, we concluded that the presence of recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP), along with alcohol consumption, age of onset, and smoking habit are 4 important risk factors of chronic pancreatitis (CP). We developed a novel prediction score model for CP with excellent discrimination and successfully validated this model in our study. Using this scoring system, a clinician can predict the outcome of a patient with AP episode easily and arrange further examination such as pancreatic functional test or endoscopic ultrasound after the acute stage for the high-risk category to diagnose CP as early as possible (incidence rate of CP about 31 per 1000 person-years in high-risk group, based on our study) since CP is an important risk factor of pancreatic cancer.