Diarrhoea, acute or chronic, is a common gastrointestinal symptom in healthcare. In most cases, acute diarrhoea in healthy individuals requires limited diagnostic and therapeutic efforts, except for the replacement of fluid electrolytes, and stool culture in severe occurrences. Acute diarrhoea is often self-limiting due to short-lived reactions to food intake and bacterial or viral infections. However, diarrhoea can persist and fulfil definitions of chronicity when a month or more has passed since the onset. Here we discuss some basic mistakes that should be avoided when managing unexplained non-bloody diarrhoea that persists beyond the acute setting. In this context, the term 'unexplained' refers to a patient without apparent alarm features and where initial consultations have failed at making a diagnosis. We used an evidence-based approach and included aspects predominantly based on clinical experience when appropriate.

Around 1 in 10 cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) will present before adulthood, with the median age at presentation being 11–12 years. IBD in children and young people is associated with more extensive disease, increased disease activity and a higher rate of complications compared with adult-onset IBD. Worldwide, estimates of paediatric IBD prevalence rates are lacking, but data suggest its incidence is increasing.

Short bowel is a condition that occurs after single or multiple intestinal resections. The incidence of short bowel in Europe is 2 per million of the population and it carries with it lifelong morbidity and mortality. The initial recognition and management of short bowel in the adult population tends to occur in the postoperative period and in the secondary care setting, where specialist input from clinicians experienced in short bowel is often lacking.

According to the Montreal definition, “[gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD)] is a condition which develops when the reflux of stomach contents causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications.”1 GORD has a negative effect on quality of life and is frequently encountered in clinical practice, with an estimated prevalence of around 24% in Europe. In the US, GORD-related healthcare costs account for $9 billion per year. A variety of symptoms are associated with GORD—heartburn and regurgitation are typical symptoms, while chest pain, cough and sore throat are considered atypical symptoms—but none is pathognomonic