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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sadaf Sharfaei M.D.[2], Seyedmahdi Pahlavani, M.D. [3]
The following table outlines the major differential diagnoses of chronic diarrhea and weight loss.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]
Abbreviations: GI: Gastrointestinal, CBC: Complete blood count, WBC: White blood cell, RBC: Red blood cell, Plt: Platelet, Hgb: Hemoglobin, ESR: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CRP: C–reactive protein, IgE: Immunoglobulin E, IgA: Immunoglobulin A, ETEC: Escherichia coli enteritis, EPEC: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, EIEC: Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli, EHEC: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, EAEC: Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli, Nl: Normal, ASCA: Anti saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies, ANCA: Anti–neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody, DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, CFTR: Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, SLC10A2: Solute carrier family 10 member 2, SeHCAT: Selenium homocholic acid taurine or tauroselcholic acid, IEL: Intraepithelial lymphocytes, MRCP: Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, ANA: Antinuclear antibodies, AMA: Anti-mitochondrial antibody, LDH: Lactate dehydrogenase, CPK: Creatine phosphokinase, PCR: Polymerase chain reaction, ELISA: Enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay, LT: Heat–labile enterotoxin, ST: Heat–stable enterotoxin, RT-PCR: Reverse–transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, CD4: Cluster of differentiation 4, HIV: Human immunodeficiency virus, RUQ: Right-upper quadrant, VIP: Vasoactive intestinal peptide, GI: Gastrointestinal, FAP: Familial adenomatous polyposis, HNPCC: Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, MTP: Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, Scl‑70: Anti–topoisomerase I, TSH: Thyroid-stimulating hormone, T4: Thyroxine, T3: Triiodothyronine, DTR: Deep tendon reflex, RNA: Ribonucleic acid
| Cause | Clinical manifestation | Lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symptoms | GI signs | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| Crohn's disease | – | + | + | + | + | ± | + | + |
|
+ | + | – | Nl | – | ↑ | ↓ | ↑ |
|
|
|
| |
| Ulcerative colitis | – | + | + | + | + | ± | + | + | + | + | – | Nl | – | ↑ | ↓ | ↑ |
|
|
| |||
| Celiac disease | – | + | ± | – | ± | – | + | + |
|
– | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
| |||
| Cause | Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | GI signs | Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| Cystic fibrosis | – | + | – | – | + | ± | + | + | – | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Chronic pancreatitis | – | + | + | – | + | – | + | + | – | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
|||||
| Bile acid malabsorption | – | + | + | – | + | – | – | + | – | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Cause | Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | GI signs | Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| Microscopic colitis | – | + | + | – | – | – | + | + | – | – | – | Nl | – | Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Infective colitis | – | + | + | + | – | + | + | + |
|
+ | + | + | Nl |
|
↑ | ↓ | ↑ | |||||
| Ischemic colitis | + | + | + | + | – | + | + | + |
|
+ | + | – | Nl | – | ↑ | ↓ | ↑ |
|
|
| ||
| Cause | Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | GI signs | Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| Whipple's disease | – | + | + | – | + | ± | + | + | – | – | – | Nl |
|
↓ | ↓ | ↓/↑ |
|
| ||||
| Tropical sprue | + | + | + | – | + | + | + | + |
|
+ | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | ↓ | Nl |
| ||||
| Small bowel bacterial overgrowth | – | + | + | – | + | – | + | + | + | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
| ||||
| Escherichia coli enteritis | EPEC | + | + | + | + | – | + | + | + |
|
+ | + | – | Nl |
|
↑ | Nl | Nl | – | – |
| |
| Cause | Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | GI signs | Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| HIV | – | + | + | – | – | + | + | + | + | – | – | Nl | – | ↓ | ↓ | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Giardia | – | + | + | – | + | – | + | + | – | – | + | Nl | – | Nl | Nl | Nl | – |
| ||||
| Cryptosporidium | – | + | + | – | – | – | + | + | – | – | + | Nl |
|
Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Isospora | + | + | + | – | + | + | + | + | + | + | + | Nl |
|
↑ | Nl | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Cause | Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | GI signs | Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| Carcinoid tumor | – | + | + | + | – | – | + | + | – | + | – | ↓ | – | Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| VIPoma | + | + | + | – | + | – | + | + |
|
– | – | – | ↓ | – | Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
|
| ||
| Zollinger–Ellison syndrome | – | + | + | + | + | – | + | + | – | – | – | ↓ | – | Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
| ||||
| Somatostatinoma | – | + | + | – | – | – | + | + | – | – | – | ↓ | – | Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Cause | Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | GI signs | Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| Lymphoma | – | + | + | + | – | + | + | + | – | + | – | Nl | – | Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
| ||||
| Colorectal cancer | – | + | + | + | + | – | + | + |
|
– | + | – | Nl | – | Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
| |||
| Medications | + | + | + | – | ± | ± | + | + | – | – | – | ↑/↓ | – | ↑ | Nl | Nl |
|
– |
| |||
| Factitious diarrhea | + | + | + | – | – | – | + | + | – | – | – | ↑/↓ | – | Nl | Nl | Nl |
| |||||
| Cause | Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | GI signs | Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| Heavy metal ingestion | – | + | + | – | – | – | + | + | – | – | – | Nl | – | Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
| ||||
| Short bowel syndrome | + | + | + | – | + | – | – | + | – | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | ↓ | ↑ |
|
|
|
| ||
| Radiation enteritis | + | + | + | + | + | – | + | + | + | + | – | Nl |
|
Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Dumping syndrome | – | + | + | – | + | – | – | + |
|
– | – | – | Nl | – | Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
| |||
| Cause | Duration | Diarrhea | Fever | Abdominal pain | Weight loss | GI signs | Stool exam | CBC | Other lab findings | Extra intestinal findings | Cause/Pathogenesis | Gold standard diagnosis | ||||||||||
| Acute | Chronic | Watery | Bloody | Fatty | WBC | RBC | Ova/Parasite | Osmotic gap | Other | WBC | Hgb | Plt | ||||||||||
| Abetalipoproteinemia | – | + | + | – | + | – | + | + | – | – | – | Nl | – | Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
|
| |||
| Hyperthyroidism | – | + | + | – | – | ± | + | + | – | – | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | Nl | Nl |
|
|
|||
| Diabetic neuropathy | – | + | + | – | + | – | + | + | – | – | – | Nl |
|
Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
| ||||
| Systemic sclerosis | – | + | + | ± | + | – | + | + | – | + | – | Nl |
|
Nl | ↓ | Nl |
|
| ||||