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bloody diarrhea; inflammatory diarrhea

Etiology: 1) enterohemorrhagic E coli (Shiga toxin-producing E coli) is the most common cause of bloody diarrhea in the U.S. 2) Shigella 3) Campylobacter jejuni (diarrhea generally not bloody) [1] 4) Vibrio parahaemolyticus 5) Clostridium difficile 6) amebiasis (Entamoeba histolytica) 7) intestinal ischemia 8) inflammatory bowel disease a) Crohn's disease b) ulcerative colitis 9) colchicine toxicity 10) blood in stool may be observed with traveler's diarrhea [3] Laboratory: - shiga toxin gene, immunoassay for shiga toxin Management: - if fever & other symptoms of dysentery, empiric antibiotics indicated* * antibiotics may worsen outcome of Shiga-toxin producting E coli Notes: Also see: - bloody versus non-bloody diarrhea - infectious diarrhea - traveler's diarrhea if travel related

Related

bloody (inflammatory) versus non-bloody (non-inflammatory) diarrhea infectious diarrhea; infectious colitis

Specific

dysentery

General

diarrhea

References

  1. Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 17, 18, 19. American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 2015, 2018, 2021.
  2. NEJM Knowledge+ Question of the Week. November 26, 2019 https://knowledgeplus.nejm.org/question-of-week/579/
  3. NEJM Knowledge+