[Differential diagnosis of diarrhea]

Diarrheal disease should be differentiated into acute and chronic forms. Acute diarrhea can most commonly be referred to infectious pathogens and is usually self-limiting. To establish a firm diagnosis is important for patients with special professions, e.g. food-handlers, cooks, etc. In patients with chronic diarrheal disease, the individual case history (e.g. abdominal operations, length and frequency of diarrhea, body weight, medications, etc.) is of paramount importance to differentiate between functional and organic illness. At least half of the patients in general practice suffer from functional, not from organic disease. Endoscopy of the gastrointestinal tract and tests of small bowel function are first-line procedures in patients with chronic diarrhea, followed by additional investigations (hormonal analysis, bacteriological tests, etc.), if indicated in a given patient.