Chronic diarrhea natural history, complications and prognosis

	Chronic diarrhea Microchapters
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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

If left untreated, patients with chronic diarrhea may progress to develop symptoms of altered consciousness due to electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, and malnutrition. Common complications of chronic diarrhea include confusion, perforated bowels, sepsis, and death. Prognosis is generally good when the underlying cause is identified and treated early.

Without treatment, the patient will develop symptoms of dehydration, malnutrition, altered mental status, sepsis, and eventually coma or death.

Complications that can develop as a result of chronic diarrhea are:

The prognosis of chronic diarrhea is good especially when the underlying cause is identified early and treated. The presence of these features in a patient complaining of diarrhea for over 4 weeks may indicate poor prognosis:^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

↑ Halfdanarson TR, Litzow MR, Murray JA (2007). "Hematologic manifestations of celiac disease". Blood. 109 (2): 412–21. doi:10.1182/blood-2006-07-031104. PMC 1785098. PMID 16973955.
↑ Olesen M, Eriksson S, Bohr J, Järnerot G, Tysk C (2004). "Microscopic colitis: a common diarrhoeal disease. An epidemiological study in Orebro, Sweden, 1993-1998". Gut. 53 (3): 346–50. PMC 1773978. PMID 14960513.
↑ Tillisch K, Labus JS, Naliboff BD, Bolus R, Shetzline M, Mayer EA; et al. (2005). "Characterization of the alternating bowel habit subtype in patients with irritable bowel syndrome". Am J Gastroenterol. 100 (4): 896–904. doi:10.1111/j.1572-0241.2005.41211.x. PMID 15784038.
↑ . doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2006.11.024 showArticle Info Check |doi= value (help). Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ Hammer HF, Fine KD, Santa Ana CA, Porter JL, Schiller LR, Fordtran JS (1990). "Carbohydrate malabsorption. Its measurement and its contribution to diarrhea". J Clin Invest. 86 (6): 1936–44. doi:10.1172/JCI114927. PMC 329829. PMID 2254453.