Diarrhea Flashcards
What is pseudodiarrhea?
Can just be increased frequency of bowel movements but not actual diarrhea
What is fecal incontinence?
Involuntary discharge of rectal contents (could be neurogenic)
What is overflow incontinence?
Happens with constipation. Liquid stool builds up behind hard stool and the liquid stool will leak around the bulk
Three main types of acute diarrhea
- Watery
- Fatty diarrhea
- Infectious
Secretory diarrhea typically occurs when?
At night
What typically causes fatty diarrhea?
- Maldigestion (giardiasis, etc)
2. Malabsorption (chronic pancreatitis, etc)
What is the number one cause of acute diarrhea?
Viral infection
Acute, persistent, chronic diarrhea time course?
- Acute < 14 days
- Persistant 15-30 days
- Chronic < 30 days
Foods implicated with s. aureus food poisoning?
Cream based things that have sat out
Hamburgers at picnics are implicated with what food poisoning?
Non-typhoidal salmonella
What foods are implicated with shiga-toxin producing e. coli?
Hamburgers and spinach
Sushi food poisoning organism?
Vibrio parahemolyticus (grows in months without an R)
What two GI symptoms can c. perferingens cause?
- Toxin mediated GI symptoms
* Necrotizing enteritis “pig bel”
What are risk factors for Hep A infection?
- MSM
- Shellfish
- Food workers
What are two common finding that might appear on a rectal exam in a PT with diarrhea?
- Anal fissures
* Anal fistulas
Watery (osmotic) diarrhea is most often due to what?
What you eat. Olestra, laxatives, etc.
Watery (functional) diarrhea is most often due to what?
Hypermotility (IBS)
Fatty (malabsorptive) diarrhea is most often due to what?
Giardia, celiac disease (bloating, gas, steatorrhea)
Fatty (maldigestion) diarrhea is most often due to what?
Loss of digestive function (chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis)
Inflammatory (IBD) diarrhea is most often due to what?
Ulcerative colitis, Crohns (WBCs, pus, blood)
Inflammatory (invasive) diarrhea is most often due to what?
C-diff and other infectious causes
If an adult has a more severe infectious diarrhea, what would it make you suspicious for?
A bacterial cause instead of a viral cause
Five reasons you would want to test for ova and parasites?
- Persistent D
- Persistent D following trip to Nepal, Russia
- Persistent D with exposure to kids at daycare
- D in MSM or with AIDs
- Bloody diarrhea with few or no leukocytes
What is emperic antibiotic treatment for diarrhea?
- Fluoroquinolones
2. Metronidazole
How can you differentiate large from small intestine on radiograph?
Small intestine has haustra that go all the way across (large has tinea coli)
