Dr. Amey Sonavane, MBBS, DNB (General Medicine), DNB (Gastroenterology), MRCP (SCE-Gastroenterology), Fellow in Clinical and Transplant Hepatology, is an consultant in the department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Liver transplantation at Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai.
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) and pancreatitis are both serious disorders of the pancreas. Chronic pancreatitis is one of the most common causes of EPI.
Continue reading to learn more about the differences between EPI and pancreatitis, as well as other conditions affecting the pancreas.
The pancreas plays more than one role. It makes the insulin needed to regulate glucose. It also produces a large share of the enzymes you need to digest food and absorb nutrients. When your pancreas isn’t functioning well, you’re likely to have at least some of the following symptoms:
These symptoms could be due to EPI, pancreatitis, or several other disorders of the pancreas.
Pancreatitis means your pancreas is inflamed. There are several types of pancreatitis with a variety of causes. The three main types are acute, chronic, and hereditary.
Acute pancreatitis comes on suddenly. Inflammation of the pancreas causes severe pain in the upper abdomen, which can last a few days. Other symptoms include:
Causes of acute pancreatitis include:
Treatment depends on the cause.
Chronic pancreatitis is a progressive illness. In addition to upper abdominal pain, symptoms may include diarrhea and weight loss. As the disease progresses, it causes irreversible damage to the pancreas. This can lead to diabetes and malnutrition due to EPI.
Causes include:
Among people with chronic pancreatitis, about 20 percent go on to develop EPI.
Treatment depends on the cause and may include pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT), insulin, and pain management.
