Acquired chloride diarrhea.

Seven patients with intractable diarrhea were found to be excreting large quantities of chloride in the stool, associated with metabolic alkalosis, hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypochloremia, and the excretion of chloride-free urine. They appear to have had an acquired, transient form of chloride diarrhea. We speculate that the diarrhea may have been perpetuated, in part, by fecal loss of chloride.