Title of the proposal: Chronic diarrhea in the outpatient department: evaluation of demographic and clinical characteristics. Background: Chronic diarrhoea in adult is a common gastrointestinal disorder that is characterized by various degrees of abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Most patients have long-standing symptoms [1]. It is defined as the abnormal passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day for more than four weeks [2]. This definition based on symptoms led to an overlap between functional bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome [3] and organic causes. Optimal strategies for the evaluation of patients with chronic diarrhea have not yet been well-established. From literature search, several points became pertinent to …show more content…
• Too many investigations sometimes aggravate the symptoms of functional bowel disorder Hypothesis: Most of the chronic diarrhoea cases can effectively evaluate and managed in the out-patient department with minimum resources. Objective(s): Primary objective: To evaluate the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients presenting with chronic diarrhoea in the out-patient setting (Ambulatory Care Unit) of Dhaka Hospital of icddr,b. Secondary objective: 1) To identify the predisposing factors of chronic diarrhea. 2) To identify the offending microorganism from stool of chronic diarrhea 3) To evaluate the factors associated with repeated health resource utilization 4) To examine the psychosocial factors and its impact on patients' quality of life. 5) To determine the frequency of organic and functional gastrointestinal symptoms specially IBS among chronic diarrhea patient. 6) To evaluate the outcome of treatment at outpatient department with minimum resources Methodology : Study Type: Descriptive observational