Often, symptoms do not manifest in infants until they begin to ingest sucrose and starch-containing foods (for example, juices, solid foods, and medications sweetened with sucrose).
Chronic, watery diarrhea and failure to thrive are the most common symptoms in infants and toddlers. Other manifestations include abdominal distention, gassiness, colic, irritability, excoriated buttocks, diaper rash, and vomiting.
In some populations, notably indigenous people of Greenland and Alaska, a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet may delay the development of CSID symptoms.2 A small number of patients may require hospitalization for diarrhea and dehydration, malnutrition, muscle wasting and weakness.1-3 Patients with confirmed CSID commonly report being examined in the past for toddler’s diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome-diarrhea (IBS-D), lactose intolerance, celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, or food allergies.1,4
The gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms associated with CSID tend to persist in adults, because CSID is not a disease that a patient can outgrow. Symptoms may appear less severe in adults compared to those experienced by children. In some adults, symptoms may be limited to an increase in bowel movement frequency, abdominal distention, and flatulence. Episodic watery diarrhea upon ingestion of high levels of sucrose may occur.1 In certain patients, diarrhea may alternate with constipation, leading to a misdiagnosis of CSID as irritable bowel syndrome-alternating (IBS-A).
As with pediatric patients, the clinical presentation in adults varies dramatically from patient to patient. Some patients with CSID may experience several severe symptoms in response to consumption of sucrose, while others may experience only mild discomfort.