Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an acute inflammation of the pancreas associated with high morbidity and mortality. Endocrine pancreatic insufficiency secondary to AP has drawn increasing attention in recent years. The aim of this paper is to analyze the available clinical and experimental literature to determine the cause and effect relationship of diabetes type 3c (T3cDM; pancreatogenic diabetes) after acute pancreatitis. The clinico-pathological features and management challenges of pancreatogenic diabetes overlap with other secondary causes of diabetes. A complex pathogenesis involving pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, dysfunction of insulin secretion, and insulin resistance is likely the cause of T3cDM after AP. To obtain an improved understanding of the pathophysiology of diabetes after AP, more research is now needed to understand the risk of complications related to the pancreas and diabetes in these patients.
Keywords: acute pancreatitis; diabetes type 3c; pancreatic exocrine insufficiency; pancreatogenic diabetes; post-pancreatitis diabetes mellitus.