Background/Purpose

This study aimed to prospectively assess the current prevalence and risk factors of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) after total pancreatectomy (TP).

Methods

Between August 2015 and December 2017, we prospectively collected data from 68 Japanese centers on 148 consecutive patients who underwent TP whose computed tomography (CT) attenuation values were evaluated for 12 months. We defined post-TP NAFLD as a liver parenchyma CT value of less than 40 Hounsfield units (HU). Data on perioperative variables were retrieved from all patients and evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses to identify the perioperative risk factors of NAFLD.

Results

In this prospective cohort study, supplementation of pancreatic exocrine enzymes was provided to all 148 patients, and 97% of them were treated with high-titer pancrelipase (median dosage: 1800 mg) postoperatively. Indeed, 29 patients (19.6%) developed NAFLD within a year after TP. Multivariate analysis revealed that female sex (p=0.002), higher body mass index (BMI) (p=0.001), and postoperative diarrhea (p=0.038) were independent risk factors for post-TP NAFLD. However, post-TP NAFLD ameliorated in 11 patients (37.9%) at 12 months after surgery.

Conclusions

Among patients with risk factors such as female sex, higher BMI, and postoperative diarrhea, attention should be paid to the occurrence of NAFLD after TP.