Project Background

Chronic pancreatitis is a chronic, incurable condition in which the pancreas is inflamed. This leads to constant, unmanageable stomach pain, distressing gut symptoms, ‘brittle’ diabetes, and poor wellbeing. Patients with chronic pancreatitis lose weight and become malnourished; many develop vitamin deficiencies and osteoporosis.  Our research shows that Ireland has among the highest numbers in Europe.

Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) runs the only chronic pancreatitis service nationally, with 300 patients on our data (and growing). As the only centre Nationally, patients are referred to us from around the country and many patients with chronic pancreatitis are socially isolated. Patients are complex and need care from multiple specialists. Our overall aim is to keep patients healthier for longer and to keep them out of hospital. 

We have many patients from outside Dublin, and they often find it difficult to attend appointments. However, the pandemic means that even local patients have difficulties in attending. Our clinics are typically a challenging mix of routine follow-ups, acutely unwell patients, and patients with a new diagnosis of diabetes or cancer. 

We often deal with crisis situations. Our Specialist Nurse answers 3-5 crisis phone-calls per day (up to 30min each), and patients have frequent A&E attendances/admissions. Crucially, patients with chronic pancreatitis have a high risk of developing pancreatic cancer – which has one of the worst cancer survival rates as it is usually diagnosed in the late stages. Therefore, recognising early signs in those at risk is a vital part of patient follow-up.

Following from a 12-year track record of clinical expertise and research, we see that the best way to ensure efficient and effective patient care is to harness digital technology to modify our existing processes.

Develop a smartphone mobile health (mHealth) app to manage patients with chronic pancreatitis. This app (SmartCP app) will be pa