Chronic diarrhea overview

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Omodamola Aje B.Sc, M.D. [2]

Overview

Chronic diarrhea is a term used to refer to loose stools, urgency and high stool frequency lasting for more than 4 weeks. It is important to note that frequent defecation with normal consistency is termed psuedodiarrhea.

Differentiating Chronic Diarrhea fron other Conditions

The Rome IV criteria differentiates chronic diarrhea based on the functional, organic and inflammatory etiologies;

• The functional category includes irritable bowel syndrome (IBS),when abdominal pain accompanies the diarrhea
• The organic diarrhea is when abdominal pain is absent
• The inflammatory diarhhea is when significant abdominal pain,fever, or GI bleeding is present.
• The malsbsorption diarrhea is when gas, bloating and substantial weight loss suggests malabsorption