[Chronic diarrhea: clinical aspects].

A retrospective study on the syndrome of chronic diarrhea was carried out on 50 revised clinical histories. The patients were hospitalized at the E. Rebaglati M. Hospital between April 1983 and March 1988. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the signs and symptoms of the syndrome, as well as the etiological agents and the methodology used for diagnoses. The selection criteria involved patients diagnosed as suffering from "chronic diarrhea of undetermined causes" upon entry. Seven were excluded due to incomplete study whereas 2 were diagnosed as acute infections diarrhea. Forty one patients were definite cases of chronic diarrhea and they were divided between 2 groups: the first one or Chronic Organic Diarrhea (58.53%) and the second one or Chronic Functional Diarrhea (41.46%). Out of the 41 revised clinical histories with chronic diarrhea, the following were the foundings: (1) the syndrome affects the economically active populations mainly and the length of the disease was more than 3 weeks in all the patients; (2) anemia, fever, weight loss, nightime bowel movements and bloody stools suggest organic problems whereas psychiatric disorders, daytime bowel movements, abdominal pain, disease recurrence and absence of detectable organic pathology suggest functional problems; (3) the most common cause of chronic diarrhea is the Irritable Bowel Syndrome followed by infectious diseases, with parasitosis in the first place; and (4) bearing in mind the mainly colonic affection and the predominant infectious diseases, the methodology used for their diagnosis would bring out good results.