A Single Tertiary Center 14-year Experience With Mesenteric Panniculitis in Turkey: A Retrospective Study of 716 Patients

BACKGROUND: Mesenteric panniculitis is a chronic inflammatory process seen in mesenteric tissue. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence, clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings, and malignancy in patients diagnosed with mesenteric panniculitis using computed tomography. METHODS: A total of 716 patients with mesenteric panniculitis were retrospectively evaluated by screening all computed tomography scans performed between January 2005 and December 2018. RESULTS: Among 65 278 patients undergoing CT, 716 were diagnosed with mesenteric panniculitis. The prevalence of mesenteric panniculitis was 1.1%. The mean age was 56 ± 14 (20-91) years. The malignant and nonmalignant groups comprised 354 (49.4%) and 362 (50.6%) patients, respectively. The mean age of the malignant group was significantly higher than the nonmalignant group (P < .001). The most common malignancy was breast cancer (12.2%). A history of abdominal surgery was present in 179 (25%) patients with mesenteric panniculitis and it is higher in the malignant group than the nonmalignant group (128 [36.1%], 51 [14%], respectively, P < .001). Mean hemoglobin level and leukocyte count were lower in the malignant group than in the nonmalignant group (P < .001, P < .001, respectively). The mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate was higher in the malignant group than in the nonmalignant group (P = .030). Radiological criterion 2 was less common and radiological criterion 5 was more common in the malignant group than the nonmalignant group (91.0%, 96.4%, P = .004; 35.9%, 27.1%, respectively, P = .011). CONCLUSIONS: It is recommended to conduct research for malignancy in patients with mesenteric panniculitis, especially in the presence of clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings with high-risk features.