Tropical pancreatitis

**Definition:** Tropical pancreatitis is a rare pancreatic disease of juvenile onset occurring mainly in tropical developing countries and characterised by chronic non-alcoholic pancreatitis manifesting with abdominal pain, steatorrhoea and fibrocalculous pancreatopathy. It is also commonly associated with the development of pancreatic calculi and pancreatic cancer at a much higher frequency than seen in ordinary chronic pancreatitis.