Pancreatic disease and diarrhoea | The Pancreas

Pancreatic disease and diarrhoea

There are some diseases of the pancreas that can also be accompanied by diarrhoea. If an infectious cause (gastrointestinal infection) has been ruled out as the cause, the pancreas should be examined more closely. It could be that the cause of the diarrhoea is a so-called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

The pancreas is not able to produce sufficient quantities of various digestive enzymes. The intestine reacts to this after eating with flatulence and diarrhoea, sometimes the affected persons also have abdominal pain and complain about so-called fatty stools. For diagnosis, the corresponding enzymes responsible for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency are quantitatively determined by a gastroenterologist. To treat this disease, either dietary changes or the intake of the insufficiently formed enzymes can be used.