[Etiology of chronic diarrhea in the elderly in Hospital Edgardo Rebagliati, Lima-Peru].

Introduction: The impact of chronic diarrhea in the elderly is disproportionate by several factors causing increased morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To describe the main features about the chronic diarrhea in elderly patients from Edgardo Rebagliati Hospital (Lima-Peru) during the period January 2005 to December 2011,

Method: A descriptive and retrospective study in which we reviewed the medical records of elderly patients with the diagnosis of chronic diarrhea, pouring in a data collection sheet.

Results: We reviewed the medical records of 202 patients. The mean age was 73.5 ± 6.7 years, with most women (57.43%). Major comorbidities were cardiovascular (60.4%) and endocrine (27.2%). The half time of illness was 21.6 ± 13.6 weeks. The most requested tests were CBC, biochemistry, albumin, coprofuncional, parasitological and colonoscopy. The most common type of diarrhea was the organic (84.16%). Among the main causes were found microscopic colitis (35.15%), parasites (15.84%), irritable bowel syndrome (14.85%) and bacterial overgrowth (8.42%).

Conclusions: The most common causes of chronic diarrhea in the elderly are microscopic colitis, parasites, irritable bowel syndrome and bacterial overgrowth.