Steatorrhea, commonly known as oily diarrhoea, is a light-coloured stool with an oily substance, which has a foul odour and can float on the surface.
There are many diseases that can cause steatorrhea, and problems with any part of the fat digestion and absorption process can cause steatorrhea, such as obstructive jaundice, including congenital biliary obstruction and infectious toxic hepatitis, where patients do not produce enough bile to emulsify the fat. Secondly intestinal diseases such as intestinal infections, restrictive ileitis and ulcerative colitis can cause steatorrhea.