Chronic diarrhea causes

	Chronic diarrhea Microchapters
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Case Studies
Case #1

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

Overview

Depending on the socio economic status of the population, chronic diarrhea can be caused by several factors. In a developing nation, the most likely causes of diarhhea include; chronic bacteria, mycobacterial and parasitic infections and less likely to include functional disorders such as malabsorption and inflammatory bowel diseases. In a developed nation however, the most likely cause of diarrhea include; irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease, malabsorption syndromes (such as lactose intolerance and celiac disease), and chronic infections (particularly in patients who are immunocompromised).

Causes

Watery diarrhea

Osmotic diarrhea
- Mg2+, PO43-, SO42- ingestion
- Carbohydrate malabsorption
Secretory diarrhea
- Laxative abuse (nonosmotic laxatives)
- Congenital syndromes
- Bacterial toxins
- Ileal bile acid malabsorption
- Inflammatory bowel disease
  - Ulcerative colitis
  - Crohn’s disease
  - Microscopic (lymphocytic and collagenous) colitis
  - Diverticulitis
- Vasculitis
- Drugs and poisons
- Disordered motility
  - Postvagotomy diarrhea
  - Postsympathectomy diarrhea
  - Diabetic autonomic neuropathy
  - Hyperthyroidism
  - Irritable bowel syndrome
- Neuroendocrine tumors
  - Gastrinoma
  - VIPoma
  - Somatostatinoma
  - Mastocytosis
  - Carcinoid syndrome
  - Medullary carcinoma of thyroid
- Neoplasia
  - Colon carcinoma
  - Lymphoma
  - Villous adenoma
- Addison’s disease
- Epidemic secretory diarrhea
- Idiopathic secretory diarrhea

Fatty diarrhea

Malabsorption syndromes
- Mucosal diseases
- Short-bowel syndrome
- Postresection diarrhea
- Mesenteric ischemia
Maldigestion
- Pancreatic insufficiency
- Bile acid deficiency

Inflammatory diarrhea

Inflammatory bowel disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Crohn’s disease
- Diverticulitis
- Ulcerative jejunoileitis
Infectious diseases
- Ulcerating viral infections
  - Cytomegalovirus
  - Herpes simplex
Ischemic colitis
Radiation colitis
Neoplasia
- Colon cancer
- Lymphoma

Causes by organ system

Cardiovascular	No underlying causes
Chemical/Poisoning	No underlying causes
Dental	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	No underlying causes
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	No underlying causes
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	No underlying causes
Genetic	No underlying causes
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	No underlying causes
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic	No underlying causes
Neurologic	No underlying causes
Nutritional/Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Ophthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose/Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal/Electrolyte	No underlying causes
Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy	No underlying causes
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	No underlying causes
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	No underlying causes

Causes in Alphabetical Order

List the causes of the disease in alphabetical order.

3

References

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