| Abstract [eng] |
Objective – to analyze, review and present evidence-based data on pancreatic exocrine insufficiency etiology, epidemiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment in pancreatic diseases. Material and methods. During the preparation of the review of scientific literature, the search for publications in English language was carried out in the databases of “PubMed“, “ScienceDirect“ and in the specialized information search system “Google Scholar“. 58 articles were analyzed according to significant words. The period of publication was not limited. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the sources. Results. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency occurs in chronic or acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer. In chronic pancreatitis exocrine insufficiency is caused by inflammation and replacement of the parenchyma by connective tissue. In acute pancreatitis parenchyma is damaged by necrosis. In pancreatic cancer exocrine insufficiency occurs because of destruction or surgical loss of pancreatic tissue, ductal obstruction. Exocrine insufficiency symptoms are steatorrhea, diarrhea, weight loss, flatulence, abdominal pain, deficiency of lipid soluble vitamins. Direct pancreatic function test, secretin-enhanced magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, coefficient of fat absorption, 13C-mixed triglyceride breath test, fecal elastase-1 test can be used to diagnose exocrine insufficiency. Most effective treatment is pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, which reduces symptoms, improves quality of life, survival rate. Conclusion. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is caused by chronic or acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer. Most common symptoms are steatorrhea, weight loss, abdominal pain. Most widely used diagnostic test is fecal elastase-1 and the most effective treatment is pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. |
