Gastroenterology and hepatology
Malabsorption
Sorting malabsorption by site (luminal, mucosal, post-mucosal), the first-line tests (coeliac serology, faecal elastase, duodenal biopsy), SIBO breath testing and antibiotics, bile acid diarrhoea, Whipple disease, and replacing what has been lost.
Tier 2Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Malabsorption is failure to digest or absorb nutrients. It may be global (fat, protein, vitamins) or selective (lactose, B12, bile acids).
- Clues: steatorrhoea (pale, bulky, floating, offensive stools), weight loss despite eating, and deficiency states such as iron-deficiency anaemia, osteomalacia or a raised INR.
- Think by site: luminal, mucosal or post-mucosal. That points to the test.
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Sources
- Therapeutic Guidelines: Gastrointestinal (eTG complete), chronic diarrhoea and malabsorptionAU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited
- Pimentel M et al. ACG Clinical Guideline: Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. Am J Gastroenterol 2020;115:165-78American College of Gastroenterology, 2020
- Quigley EMM et al. AGA Clinical Practice Update on Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth: Expert Review. Gastroenterology 2020;159:1526-32American Gastroenterological Association, 2020
- Rezaie A et al. Hydrogen and methane-based breath testing in gastrointestinal disorders: the North American Consensus. Am J Gastroenterol 2017;112:775-84American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2017
- Arasaradnam RP et al. Guidelines for the investigation of chronic diarrhoea in adults: British Society of Gastroenterology, 3rd edition. Gut 2018;67:1380-99British Society of Gastroenterology (Gut), 2018
- Lagier JC et al. Treatment of classic Whipple's disease: from in vitro results to clinical outcome. J Antimicrob Chemother 2014;69:219-27Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2014
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Personal emails, About story and Australian-style copy