Abdominal Conditions And Management Flashcards
What are the risk factors associated with cancer development?
High fat and high salt diets, smoking, heavy alcohol use and having a sedentary lifestyle.
What are the main causes of abdominal conditions?
Cancer, inflammation, infection and hypovolaemia
What does metastasise mean?
Spread of cancer to various sites, crossing abdominal boundaries.
What can chronic inflammatory disease be presented as?
Pain, haemorrhage, obstruction, inflammation and infection.
What causes hypovolaemia?
Trauma, erosion of the protective mucosal layers - can be slow or quick
What is hypovolaemia?
Condition that occurs when the body loses fluid such as blood or water. Low circulating blood volume
What should we be looking for with hypovolaemia
Signs of shock
Why does infection happen ?
Happens when pathogens invade the body
What are symptoms of infection?
Stomach ache, vomiting, diarrhoea.
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.
What is a GI bleed a symptom of?
Another disease in process.
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.
What needs to happen with patients with a recent GI bleed (48 hours)?
Be seen at hospital.
What is pancreatitis
Where there is redness and swelling of the pancreas. This happens when the digestive juices and enzymes attack the pancreas.
What are risk factors associated with pancreatitis?
Excessive alcohol use, gallstone disease
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.