What is a manifestation of hypoparathyroidism?

A. Hernia causes mechanical bowel obstruction by physically trapping or compressing the intestine, preventing content passage. This aligns with the patient’s hernia, creating a structural blockage consistent with clinical findings.

B. Hypokalemia leads to functional bowel obstruction by disrupting intestinal motility through electrolyte imbalances, impairing muscle contractions without physical blockage. This matches the patient’s hypokalemia, exacerbating adynamic ileus.

C. Anesthesia from surgery causes functional bowel obstruction by slowing intestinal peristalsis, often resulting in postoperative ileus. This aligns with the patient’s recent anesthesia exposure, disrupting coordinated muscle contractions.

D. Intestinal tumor results in mechanical bowel obstruction by physically blocking or compressing the intestinal lumen, impeding content flow. The patient’s tumor aligns with this mechanism, a common cause of mechanical obstruction.

E. Pancreatitis contributes to functional bowel obstruction by causing inflammation or retroperitoneal irritation, leading to adynamic ileus without physical blockage. This matches the patient’s pancreatitis, disrupting intestinal motility.

F. Adhesions cause mechanical bowel obstruction by forming fibrous bands that kink or compress the intestine, blocking content passage. The patient’s adhesion history aligns with this, a leading cause of small bowel obstruction

Choice A reason: Melena is dark, tarry stool due to upper gastrointestinal bleeding, not greasy or foul-smelling from malabsorption. It results from digested blood, not fat malabsorption, making this choice incorrect for the described diarrhea.

Choice B reason: Small-volume diarrhea is typically due to inflammation, like in inflammatory bowel disease, not malabsorption. It lacks the greasy, foul-smelling quality of fat malabsorption, making this choice incorrect for malabsorption-related diarrhea.

Choice C reason: Steatorrhea is greasy, foul-smelling diarrhea caused by fat malabsorption, common in disorders like celiac disease or pancreatic insufficiency. Undigested fats in stool cause its characteristic appearance and odor, making this the correct choice.

Choice D reason: Osmotic diarrhea results from unabsorbed solutes, like lactose intolerance, causing watery stools, not specifically greasy or foul-smelling. It lacks the fat content of steatorrhea, making this choice incorrect for malabsorption diarrhea.