Chronic Diarrhoea in Children

CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC MANUAL

Chronic diarrhoea in children is defined as the presence of liquid or semi-liquid stools persisting for more than four weeks. This condition may result from various pathologies affecting the absorption and digestion of nutrients in the gastrointestinal tract.

Chronic diarrhoea can significantly impact a child’s growth and development, making it crucial to identify the underlying cause to provide appropriate treatment and improve the patient’s quality of life.

Pathology	Symptoms and Clinical Signs	Suspected Diagnosis	Confirmatory Diagnosis
Lactose intolerance	Watery diarrhoea, abdominal distension, flatulence, abdominal pain, borborygmi	History of symptoms after dairy consumption, physical examination	Hydrogen breath test, lactose tolerance test, elimination of lactose from diet
Cow’s milk protein intolerance	Diarrhoea, vomiting, blood in stools, irritability, eczema	History of symptoms after cow’s milk ingestion, physical examination	Elimination diet, challenge tests, allergy testing
Chronic intestinal infection	Persistent diarrhoea, abdominal pain, recurrent fever, weight loss, malnutrition	History of travel, exposure to pathogens, physical examination	Stool culture, stool examination for parasites, serological tests
Coeliac disease	Chronic diarrhoea, weight loss, abdominal distension, growth delay, fatigue	Family history, chronic gastrointestinal symptoms, physical examination	Serology for antibodies (anti-transglutaminase, anti-endomysial), duodenal biopsy
Cystic fibrosis	Chronic diarrhoea, steatorrhoea, persistent cough, recurrent respiratory infections, growth delay	Family history, physical examination	Sweat test, genetic testing