Steatorrhea (patient information)

Steatorrhea
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
Diagnosis
When to seek urgent medical care?
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Steatorrhea?
Prevention
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
Steatorrhea On the Web
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Vindhya BellamKonda, M.B.B.S [2]

What are the Symptoms of Steatorrhea?

Mild steatorrhea:

• Foamy, frothy (or) mucous filled stool
• foul smelling stool
• diarrhea
• Greasy stools that are difficult to flush
• Abdominal pain, cramping, bloating
• Heart burn

Severe(or) chronic diarrhea

• Chronic loose, heavy and foul smelling stool
• anemia
• Muscle weakness and pain
• fever
• Skin manifestations
• Neurological manifestations
• Edema
• Bleeding disorders
• Vision problems
• Weight loss
• Osteoporosis
• Flatulence
• Abdominal distension

What Causes Steatorrhea?

• Celiac disease
• Choledocholithiasis
• Cystic fibrosis
• Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
• Hypolipidemic drugs
• Inflammatory bowel disease 
• Small bowel bacterial overgrowth syndrome

Who is at Highest Risk?

• Common risk factors in the development of Steatorrhea include:
  • Celiac disease
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Exocrine pancreatic insufficieny
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
  • Hypolipidemic drugs

Diagnosis

Quantitative analysis of fat in the stool may be helpful in the diagnosis of steatorrhea. The various tests that may be helpful in the diagnosis are acid steatocrit, near-infrared reflectance analysis (NIRA) and sudan III stain.

Treatment Options

Management of steatorrhea include treatment of underlying etiology, control of diarrhea and correction of nutritional deficiencies.

• Correcting nutritional deficiencies by supplementing with the following:

• • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin D3
  • VitaminK
  • Folic acid
  • Vitamin B12
  • Ferrous sulfate
  • Calcium carbonate

• Antidiarrheals
  • Loperamide

• Bile acid binding resins
  • Cholestyramine

• Pancreatic enzyme supplementation

Where to find Medical Care for Steatorrhea?

Medical care for steatorrhea can be found here.