What is the Difference Between Osmotic and Secretory Diarrhea?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚Osmotic and secretory diarrhea are two types of chronic watery diarrhea with distinct differences:
- Osmotic diarrhea occurs when unabsorbed substances draw water from the plasma into the intestinal lumen along osmotic gradients. Common causes of osmotic diarrhea include:
- Consuming substances that cannot be absorbed, such as lactose, artificial sweeteners, or certain carbohydrates found in fruit juices.
- Side effects of medications.
- Secretory diarrhea results from disordered electrolyte transport and is more commonly caused by decreased absorption rather than net secretion. Common causes of secretory diarrhea include:
- Bacterial infections, such as salmonella and E. coli.
- Parasitic infections, such as cryptosporidium and Giardia.
- Viral infections, such as norovirus and viral hepatitis.
- Digestive disorders, such as celiac disease and ulcerative colitis.
- Genetic disorders, such as congenital chloride diarrhea.
Two ways to distinguish between osmotic and secretory diarrhea are:
- Response to fasting: Stool volume decreases with fasting in osmotic diarrhea, while secretory diarrhea typically continues unabated with fasting.
- Fecal osmotic gap: This is calculated by adding the stool sodium and potassium concentration, multiplying by 2, and subtracting this amount from 290 mmol/L. A fecal osmotic gap greater than 50 mmol/L suggests an osmotic cause for diarrhea, whereas a gap less than 50 mmol/L supports a secretory origin.
On this pageWhat is the Difference Between Osmotic and Secretory Diarrhea? Comparative Table: Osmotic vs Secretory Diarrhea
Comparative Table: Osmotic vs Secretory Diarrhea
Osmotic and secretory diarrhea are two different types of watery diarrhea characterized by loose bowel movements and dehydration. Here is a table highlighting the differences between the two:
Feature | Osmotic Diarrhea | Secretory Diarrhea |
---|---|---|
Cause | Unabsorbed substances or solutes from food prevent normal water absorption in the intestines | Excessive water secretion in the lumen of the small intestine |
Stool Osmolality | Fecal osmotic gap is greater than 50 mmol/L | Fecal osmotic gap is less than 50 mmol/L |
Fasting Response | Stool volume decreases with fasting | Stool volume typically continues unabated with fasting |
Treatment | Lifestyle changes and antidiarrhoeal medications | Intravenous rehydration, replacement of deficits, maintenance therapy, management of other abnormalities, and antidiarrhoeal agents like Ioperamide, diosmectite, octreotide, diphenoxylate, and oral bismuth |
Both types of diarrhea can cause electrolyte abnormalities and be diagnosed through physical examination and blood tests.
Read more:
- Diarrhea vs Dysentery
- Diarrhea vs Gastroenteritis
- Constipation vs Diarrhea
- Secretion vs Excretion
- Tubular Reabsorption vs Tubular Secretion
- Osmosis vs Dialysis
- Transport Vesicles vs Secretory Vesicles
- Excretion vs Osmoregulation
- Secretin vs Cholecystokinin
- Osmolality vs Osmolarity
- Water Potential vs Osmotic Potential
- Isosmotic Hyperosmotic vs Hypoosmotic
- Food Poisoning vs Gastroenteritis
- Viral vs Bacterial Gastroenteritis
- Endocrine vs Exocrine
- Laxative vs Diuretic
- Amoebic Dysentery vs Bacillary Dysentery
- Diffusion vs Osmosis
- Norovirus vs Gastroenteritis