Final answer:
The patient's symptoms and elevated stool alpha-1-antitrypsin suggest a possible diagnosis of protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), a condition causing loss of proteins into the intestine, leading to symptoms such as edema and chronic diarrhea.
Step-by-step explanation:
The symptoms described in the question, namely failure to thrive (FTT), edema, chronic diarrhea, and elevated stool alpha-1-antitrypsin, suggest the patient may be experiencing a condition that affects the absorption of nutrients in the gastrointestinal tract. One possible diagnosis could be protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), which is characterized by the loss of serum proteins, such as albumin, into the intestine. PLE can lead to edema due to low albumin and chronic diarrhea due to the underlying gastrointestinal disorder.
Diagnosis usually involves the direct examination of stool samples over multiple days to look for other indicators such as increased fat excretion or low fecal elastase levels, indicative of poor pancreatic function. In this case, the elevated stool alpha-1-antitrypsin is a marker for PLE. Given the chronic nature of the symptoms and the stool findings, further tests such as a fecal fat excretion test or fecal elastase test may also be warranted. These tests help determine the presence of malabsorption or pancreatic insufficiency which could be contributing to the patient's symptoms.