an overview of clincial gastroenterology Flashcards
what are common symptoms patients present with?
- indigestion/heartburn/vomiting
- abdominal pain
- altered bowel habit eg. IBS, inflammatory bowel disease, diverticular disease, cancer
- rectal bleeding
- weight loss
- dysphagia
- constipation
- diarrhoea
- nausea
( - abnormal liver function tests)
etc etc etc…
how can bowel habits alter?
- diarrhoea : increased freq, loose/liquid
- constipation : decreased freq, straining
- alternating between the 2 extremes
IT IS CHANGE FROM THE PERSON’S NORMAL HABIT THAT IS IMPORTANT
describe the Bristol Stool Form Scale
what symptoms might people present with in liver disease?
- sometimes no symptoms — abnormal bloods prompt investigation
- jaundice
- fatigue
- abdominal swelling
what symptoms may people present with in pancreatic disease?
- pain
- diarrhoea (malabsorption - lose enzymes that digest food, esp fat)
- weight loss
what is ascites?
when fluid collects in abdomen
what is this showing? what can this be caused by?
- liver with cirrhosis — liver is scarred, fibrosed and diseased
- most commonly caused by alcohol, also obesity and fatty liver disease, and viral hep B and C
what are the white flecks in the pancreas?
calcification
what are the 2 conflicting roles of the gut?
- digestion and absorption : get food and water in
vs
- barrier function : keep bacteria and toxins out
what do these show?
left = healthy
right = colotis — inflamed and diseased colon
what can affect the brain-gut axis?
stress, diet, micro biome (infection, antibiotics), genome, IBS
what investigations are used in GI disease?
- bloods (anaemia, liver function, nutritional markers etc)
- endoscopy — biopsies
- imaging — ultrasound, CT, MR, nuclear medicine
what does this show?
a normal stomach
in what disease is there an immune response to gluten, damaged villi?
coeliac disease
what are gastrointestinal medical emergencies?
- GI bleeding
- severe inflammatory bowel disease
- perforation
- obstruction
- acute pancreatitis
- appendicitis
