Abdominal Conditions And Management Flashcards by millie Bareford

What are the risk factors associated with cancer development?

High fat and high salt diets, smoking, heavy alcohol use and having a sedentary lifestyle.

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What are the main causes of abdominal conditions?

Cancer, inflammation, infection and hypovolaemia

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What does metastasise mean?

Spread of cancer to various sites, crossing abdominal boundaries.

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What can chronic inflammatory disease be presented as?

Pain, haemorrhage, obstruction, inflammation and infection.

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What causes hypovolaemia?

Trauma, erosion of the protective mucosal layers - can be slow or quick

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What is hypovolaemia?

Condition that occurs when the body loses fluid such as blood or water. Low circulating blood volume

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What should we be looking for with hypovolaemia

Signs of shock

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Why does infection happen ?

Happens when pathogens invade the body

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What are symptoms of infection?

Stomach ache, vomiting, diarrhoea.

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With infection how can the patient present?

Fever, weakness and chills at an attempt to slow organism reproduction . White blood cells are directed to the infection site to kill it.

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What is a GI bleed a symptom of?

Another disease in process.

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What do you need to determine with a GI bleed?

The difference between an upper and lower bleed. This can be done by the characteristics of presenting vomiting and stools. Melena genuinely takes 14 hours to develop and produces bright red blood in stool which means lower gi bleed.

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What needs to happen with patients with a recent GI bleed (48 hours)?

Be seen at hospital.

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What is pancreatitis

Where there is redness and swelling of the pancreas. This happens when the digestive juices and enzymes attack the pancreas.

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What are risk factors associated with pancreatitis?

Excessive alcohol use, gallstone disease

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What are the signs and symptoms of pancreatitis

Epigastric or umbilical pain (bellybutton pain), radiation of pain to the back, raised bm, hypotension or shock, tachycardia, abdominal distension

What is management of pancreatitis?

Pain management and transport.

What is appendicitis?

Blocked due to faecal matter, building bacteria resulting in inflammation.

What are the signs and symptoms of appendicitis?

Epigastric or umbilical pain, fever, anorexia, nausea and vomiting. A shift of pain from epigastric to right lower quadrant is common.

What is the management of appendicitis?

Assessment and identification, pain management, consider antiemetics (drugs affective against nausea and vomiting.

What organs are included in an upper GI bleed?

Stomach, oesophagus and duodenum.

What are the causes for upper GI bleeds?

Peptic ulcers (sore on the lining of the stomach, small intestine or oesophagus), oesophagus varices (dilated sub mucosal distal oesophageal veins connecting the portal and systematic circulations), oesphagitis (inflammation), tumour, Mallory (Weiss tears, tear of the lower tissue of the oesophagus).

What is a GI bleed?

Bleedi f I

Bleeding, sign of a disorder in the digestive tract.

What history may a pt with an upper gi bleed have?

History of using aspirin or NSAIDS.

What organs are involved in the lower GI bleeds?

Small intestine, colon, rectum and anus.

What are the common causes of a lower gi bleed?

Diverticular disease (conditions affecting the large intestine), haemorrhoids (swollen veins in the anus or lower rectum), tumour.

What are the signs and symptoms of an upper gi bleed?

Vomit with blood, melena (dark black, tarry faeces), haematemesis (vomiting of blood),

What is the management of an GI bleed?

Pain management if appropriate, fluids (if Bp is below 90 and there are signs of impaired major organ perfusion, 250 ml to maximum 2 litres), transport with pre alert if needed, O2 saturation >94%.

What are the signs and symptoms of a lower GI bleed?

Gross bleeding, Haematochezia (passage of fresh blood or in stools).

What is an acute obstruction?

Bowel obstruction - intestinal contents are not progressed through the bowel in the normal way by peristalsis. Small bowel is usually a result of adhesions (band of scar tissue joining two body surfaces that aren’t normally connected. Large bowel is a result of a tumour.

What is a mechanical obstruction?

Rise in intraluminal pressure resulting in mucosal injury, inflammation and bacterial overgrowth. The proximal bowel then distends with gas, fluid and electrolytes (hypersécrétion and reduced bowel absorption) . Can lead to death of the bowel.

What are the signs and symptoms of an acute obstruction

Early - pain poorly localised, abdominal distension, absent and reduced bowel sounds, dehydration, vomiting, increased temp and heart rate.

What can lead to reshaping of the artery walls?

Atherosclerosis, Hypertension, Trauma

What are the signs and symptoms of an abdominal aortic aneurysm?

Thorcaic - may have dysphagia and dyspnoea due to pressure on surrounding organs, back pain, tearing pain, hypovolaemic shock.

What is the management of an AAA?

Do not change the position that they are in, trasnport to ED, pain meds?

What is acute cholecystisis

Inflammation of the gall bladder, normally happens when gallstones block the cystic duct.

What are the symptoms of cholecystisis?

The main symptom is sudden, sharp pain in the upper right hand side of the abdomen. This pain can spread to the right shoulder. Affected part is very tendor, persistent. High temp, feeling sick, being sick, sweating, loss of appetite, Jaundice, bulge in the tummy.

What is the management of cholecystisis?

Pain management, transfer to ed or referral.