Update on chronic diarrhea: a run-through for the clinician.
Chronic diarrhea is a common patient complaint, with an estimated prevalence of 5 %. Diarrhea is defined as >200 g/day of stool with decreased consistency, and chronic diarrhea is defined as lasting more than 4 weeks. The purpose of this review is to guide the clinician's diagnostic evaluation and management of chronic diarrhea, rather than providing a textbook comprehensive review of the subject, focusing on the patient in developed countries and excluding the immune suppressed patient. While the investigation and treatment of chronic diarrhea can be challenging due to its myriad causes, when the clinician employs a practical approach, dividing chronic diarrhea into bloody, fatty, and watery causes, it simplifies and streamlines the work-up and management plan and leads to improved patient outcomes.
University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. dsandhu@medicine.washington.edu
Davinder K
DK
Sandhu
Christina
C
Surawicz
D002908:Chronic Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003938:Diagnostic Techniques, Digestive System; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*