Chronic Diarrhea and Malabsorption

Chronic diarrhea is a common and a challenging problem for clinicians. The differential diagnosis is vast and a systematic approach is required. Precise diagnosis should be achievable in most patients with true diarrhea. Acute or chronic diarrhea, osmotic or secretory diarrhea, large-volume or small-volume diarrhea, bloody or non-bloody diarrhea, and associated features will help to narrow down the investigations, so that the wide range of investigations available are not used in a haphazard manner.