We hypothesised that the chronicity of pain (constant vs intermittent) rather than the severity (mild, moderate or severe) was a more significant determinant of QOL and resource utilisation in patients with painful CP. The aim of our study was to compare resource utilisation, disability and QOL among patients with CP who were experiencing differing types of abdominal pain, specifically mild to moderate pain versus severe pain and constant versus intermittent abdominal pain. Data for this study were derived from the North American Pancreatitis Study-2 (NAPS2).7 (link) NAPS2 was a multicentre prospective study conducted from 2000 to 2006 involving 20 centres across the USA which collected standardised data and blood from patients with acute recurrent pancreatitis and CP. Only data pertaining to patients with CP (n=540) were used for this analysis. CP was defined by predetermined imaging criteria (primarily endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP; note that ERCP was not required for eligibility and was not performed solely for the purpose of diagnosis or study enrolment) or CT) or histology. The detailed study protocol and methodology have been previously published.7 (link) The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at each participating centre, and all subjects provided written informed consent prior to enrolment.