Introduction: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is a condition characterized by reduced or timely inadequate excretion of pancreatic enzymes into the digestive tube, which results in poor food digestibility and poor absorption of nutrients. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to present the exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, its recognition and treatment. Aditionally we want to present nurse’s role in treatment of patients. Methods of work: A descriptive work method with a review of local and international literature was used in preparing the thesis. The articles were found using electronic databases and a mutual bibliographic database for instance: Google Scholar, CINAHL, Pub Med, Sciencedirect, ResearchGate, digital library University of Ljubljana and COBISS database. The fololowing keywords were used: exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, pancreatic functional tests, pancreatic enzymes, nurses role. According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, in order to find answers to the research questions, fifteen original scientific articles from the last ten years were used. Results: After a literature review, we found that a multidisciplinary approach with the active involvement of patients and their consistency in taking the prescribed dose of replacement pancreatic enzymes is necessary for treatment success. If there is no adequate response despite the sufficient amount of replacement enzymes, proton pump inhibitors may be included in the therapy. Discussion and conclusion: Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency occurs in various pancreatic and non-pancreatic disorders. The key of the treatment are substitute pancreatic enzymes. If replacement enzyme therapy is not effective, proton pump inhibitors may also be introduced. The effectiveness of the therapy also depends on the ingestion time of the enzymes. With patients suffering from severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency addition of lipid-soluble vitamins is also advised. With appropriate doses of alternative pancreatic enzymes, consistent administration and adequate nutritional support, the nutritional status of patients is significantly improved. A study showing how and to what extent other serum biochemical indicators such as albumin, prealbumin, iron, magnesium, selenium, copper, zinc and other indicators are improved during the thesis preparation was not found, therefore, new research will be needed in this area.
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