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Review
. 2023 May 5:11:943649.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.943649. eCollection 2023.

Nutrition in children with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

Yuhua Zheng  1 , Shikib Mostamand  2
Affiliations
Review

Nutrition in children with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

Yuhua Zheng et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is a condition defined as pancreatic loss of exocrine function, including decreased digestive enzymes and bicarbonate secretion, which leads to maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients. It is a common complication in many pancreatic disorders. If left undiagnosed, EPI can cause poor digestion of food, chronic diarrhea, severe malnutrition and related complications. Nutritional status and fat-soluble vitamins should be carefully assessed and monitored in patients with EPI. Early diagnosis of EPI is clinically important for appropriate nutritional support and initiating pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) which could significantly improve patient outcomes. The evaluation of nutritional status and related unique management in children with EPI will be discussed in this review.

Keywords: PERT; calories; cystic fibrosis; exocrine pancreatic insufficiency; fat-soluble vitamins; malnutrition; nutrition; pancreatitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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