Abstract
Diarrhea remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Chronic diarrhea often represents a diagnostic challenge for family medicine and pediatric physicians because of its broad spectrum of possible etiologies. The differential diagnoses can be narrowed by taking a detailed history and performing an appropriate physical examination. In general, chronic diarrhea can be due to osmotic, secretory, inflammatory, or dysmotility-related pathologies. We present the case of a 30-month-old male who was brought to the family medicine clinic with a complaint of abdominal bloating and persistent diarrhea after every feeding for four months. His stools were foul-smelling and occurred more than four times a day. The patient was below the second standard deviations for weight and height. He appeared pale, and there was no scleral icterus. The patient underwent upper endoscopy, which showed no abnormal gross findings. A dedicated abdominal computed tomography scan was performed to evaluate the pancreas for any structural abnormalities. The scan demonstrated complete replacement of the pancreatic parenchyma by fatty tissue. The diagnosis of Shwachman-Diamond syndrome was established as the analysis revealed a mutation in the SBDS gene. The patient was treated with pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. After two months of follow-up, the parents reported that the patient had significant improvement in diarrhea. Shwachman-Diamond syndrome is a very rare inherited disorder characterized by bone marrow failure, exocrine pancreatic dysfunction, and skeletal abnormalities. Despite its rarity, clinicians should keep a high index for this condition when they encounter a child with unexplained chronic diarrhea.
Highlights
Diarrhea remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide
We present the case of a 30-month-old male who was brought to the family medicine clinic with a complaint of abdominal bloating and persistent diarrhea after every feeding for four months
We presented the case of a 30-month-old male with Shwachman-Diamond syndrome presenting with chronic diarrhea and failure to gain weight
Summary
Diarrhea remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is estimated that diarrheal illnesses are responsible for approximately four million deaths in children globally [1]. We present the case of a 30-month-old male who was brought to the family medicine clinic with a complaint of abdominal bloating and persistent diarrhea after every feeding for four months. His stools were foulsmelling and occurred more than four times a day. The patient had an unremarkable past medical history. He did not have any previous hospital admissions. The child was full term with a birth weight of 3.5 kg. The patient was below the second standard deviations for weight and height He appeared pale, and there was no scleral icterus. Unit g/dL 1000/mL 1000/mL mm/hour mg/dL mg/dL g/dL U/L U/L U/L U/L mg/dL mg/dL mEq/L mEq/L mEq/L
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