A five-month-old Caucasian female is brought into the clinic as the parent complain that she has been having ongoing foul-smelling , greasy diarrhea. She seems to be small for her age and a bit sickly but, her parent’s state that she has a huge appetite. Upon examination you find that the patient is wheezing and you observe her coughing.

Write a differential diagnosis of at least five (5) disorders and explain why each might be a possibility and any potential weaknesses of each differential.

Why is it that the later in age this disease manifest itself, that the less severe the disease is?

What tests would you run to clarify your differential and potentially come to a definitive diagnosis?

If the same child was African in ancestry would this change your initial differential? Why or why not?