Etiological significance of the hepatitis C virus among other infectious factors of chronic pancreatitis

The article presents a review of modern literature data on the role of various etiological factors in the development of chronic recurrent pancreatitis. Much attention is paid to infectious agents (viruses of epidemic parotiditis, hepatitis B and C, enteroviruses, adenoviruses, mycoplasmas, salmonellae) in the formation of the inflammatory process in the pancreatic tissue. The features of the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis associated with viral infection B and C are considered; it has been shown that the lesion of the pancreas is caused by the replication of viruses directly in the cells of this organ, immunopathological changes in the liver, and concomitant immunological disorders. The probability of developing diabetes mellitus, as one of the clinical manifestations of viral replication in pancreatic endocrine cells, is underlined. The clinical manifestations of exocrine and endocrine insufficiency of the pancreas during infection with various viruses, including Coxsackie B and enteroviruses, are described in detail; the features of the course of diabetes caused by infection of these pathogens are listed. The peculiarities of chronic pancreatitis in HIV-infected and AIDS patients, in patients with parasitic pathology (opisthorchiasis, clonorchosis, ascariasis, giardiasis) are considered; the role of helicobacteria in the development of a chronic inflammatory process in pancreatic tissue is characterized. It has been suggested that a given organ may be simultaneously affected by several infectious factors; the importance of identifying pathogens of infectious diseases for the timely formulation of the correct diagnosis and the selection of adequate therapy is emphasized.