Table 2 Summary of clinical manifestations of tropical sprue and their causative factors.

Symptom	Cause
Diarrhoea	Malabsorbed nutrients with osmotic diarrhoea; colonic water secretion due to unabsorbed fatty acids
Pale, bulky foul‐smelling stool	Fat malabsorption
Borborgymi, abdominal fullness	Carbohydrate malabsorption
Pedal oedema, skin changes	Hypoproteinaemia secondary to loss of mucosal surface, protein loss and pancreatic insufficiency
Pallor	Vitamin B12 and folate deficiency, rarely iron deficiency
Angular stomatitis, glossitis	Vitamin B deficiency
Night blindness, corneal xerosis, Bitot's spots	Vitamin A deficiency
Muscle weakness	Hypophosphataemia, hypokalaemia, hypomagnesaemia
Weight loss	Anorexia, malabsorption