[Chronic diarrhea: etiologies and diagnostic evaluation]

Schoepfer, A (2008). [Chronic diarrhea: etiologies and diagnostic evaluation]. Praxis - schweizerische Rundschau für Medizin, 97(9), pp. 495-500. Bern: Huber

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Chronic diarrhea is defined as a decrease in fecal consistency lasting for four or more weeks. A myriad of disorders are associated with chronic diarrhea. In developed countries, chronic diarrhea is mostly caused by non-infectious diseases. There are four pathogenic mechanisms leading to chronic diarrhea: osmotic diarrhea, secretory diarrhea, inflammatory diarrhea, and dysmotility. Overlaps between these mechanisms are possible. A 72-hour fecal collection as well as the fasting test are important diagnostic tools to identify the underlying pathomechanism. The identification of the pathomechanism narrows down the possible etiologies of chronic diarrhea and allows therefore a cost-saving diagnostic workup. The endoscopy is well established in the workup of chronic diarrhea. This article gives an overview about the main causes and mechanisms leading to chronic diarrhea and proposes an algorithm for the diagnostic evalution.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Further Contribution)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Gastro-intestinal, Liver and Lung Disorders (DMLL) > Clinic of Visceral Surgery and Medicine > Gastroenterology
UniBE Contributor:	Schöpfer, Alain
ISSN:	1661-8157
ISBN:	18557018
Publisher:	Huber
Language:	English
Submitter:	Factscience Import
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 15:05
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:20
PubMed ID:	18557018
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/28408 (FactScience: 120607)