Prevalence and clinical characteristics of annular pancreas

A meta-analysis examined the clinical features and prevalence of annular pancreas (AP), a rare gastrointestinal congenital malformation. Analysis of 12,729,118 patients found a pooled prevalence of AP at 0.0045%. The most common comorbidity in adults and children with AP was duodenal obstruction, with pooled prevalence rates of 24.04% and 52.58%, respectively. The predominant surgical procedure in adult AP patients was duodenojejunostomy, with a pooled prevalence of 3.62%. Accurate identification of AP relies on imaging studies due to its nonspecific clinical symptoms.