Symptoms & Causes for Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

What are the symptoms of EPI?

Symptoms of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) may include

• bloating
• cramps, discomfort, or pain in the abdomen
• diarrhea
• loose, greasy, bad-smelling stools
• passing excess gas, or flatulence
• weight loss

In rare cases, EPI may lead to problems seeing at night or problems with your bones, such as low bone mass or osteoporosis.

What causes EPI?

Symptoms of EPI may include cramps, discomfort, or pain in the abdomen.

Common causes of EPI include

• chronic and acute pancreatitis
• cystic fibrosis
• pancreatic cancer
• surgery of the pancreas or upper gastrointestinal tract

Less common causes of EPI include

• diabetes—type 1 and type 2
• untreated celiac disease
• inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
• HIV
• rare genetic disorders, such as Shwachman-Diamond syndrome and Johanson-Blizzard syndrome
• Zollinger-Ellison syndrome