The purpose of the guidelines is to provide guidance to the gastroenterologist to determine the symptoms of chronic diarrhea. It covers guidance on the initial assessment, initial investigation, and small and large bowel mucosal disease. Generally, patients perceive diarrhea based on the stool consistency, whereas the medical concept of the diarrhea is based in terms of stool consistency, bowel frequency, volume, or weight.
In short, the abnormal passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day for more than four weeks can be considered as chronic diarrhea. However, there is no consensus on the duration of symptoms that define chronic or acute diarrhea, but many studies consider symptoms persisting longer than four weeks suggest non-infectious etiology and need further investigation. Initial Assessment The initial assessment is generally carried out in the primary care settings…
