chronic diarrhoea
Last reviewed 01/2018
Chronic diarrhoea is defined as diarrhoea lasting for more than 4 weeks
- a 4-week cut-off for a diagnosis of chronic diarrhea has been used in studies done in industrialized countries
- prevalence of chronic diarrhoea varies with the population surveyed and the inconsistency in the definition of chronic diarrhea,
- if based on the criterion of excessive stool frequency (>3 times/day) or loose stools (more than 25% of the time), the prevalence of chronic diarrhea in the USA varies from 14 to 18%
- if based on increased stool frequency alone the prevalence is approximately 5% (1)
Diagnosing chronic diarrhoea is a considerable challenge with several hundred conditions in the differential diagnosis.
Reference:
classification of chronic diarrhoea