Diarrhoea

Question 1

What causes secretory diarrhoea?

Answer 1

excessive activity of small intestine secretion

Question 2

What happens to cause secretory diarrhoea?

Answer 2

Intestinal mucosa secretes large amounts of salt because of stimulation of the CFTR gene causing increased chloride ions to be excreted into the bowel. Water follows the chloride ions into the bowel and results in secretory diarrhoea

Question 3

signs and symptoms of secretory diarrhoea

Answer 3

signs of dehydration (low BP, reduced skin turgor), tachycardia, dry mucous membranes)
watery diarrhoea
urgency

Question 4

What causes hypermotility diarrhoea?

Answer 4

disturbances in intestinal motility where luminal contents progress too rapidly down the tract to allow sufficient contact time –> rapid transit

Question 5

Signs and symptoms of secretory diarrhoea

Answer 5

abdominal cramps 
undigested food in stools 
dehydration 
increased bowel sounds 
abdominal tenderness

Question 6

What occurs in osmotic diarrhoea?

Answer 6

Water retention results when solutes fail to be broken down and thus cannot be absorbed. Osmotic gradient is reversed and water is attracted to the bowel

Question 7

What can cause osmotic diarrhoea?

Answer 7

defective ion transport

e.g. glucose/galactose malabsorption syndrome

Question 8

What happens in glucose/galactose malabsorption syndrome?

Answer 8

Patients with this are unable to absorb glucose or galactose. So water cannot follow by osmosis into the epithelia and may be drawn into the lumen cause osmotic diarrhoea

Question 9

Signs and symptoms of osmotic diarrhoea

Answer 9

abdominal bloating due to sugar fermentation
pale stools due to malabsorption
associated signs and symptoms of malabsorption (pale conjunctiva, weight loss etc)

Question 10

Describe what happens in inflammatory diarrhoea

Answer 10

Inflammatory process causes capillary permeability so there is a migration of the immune cells into the bowel wall

Question 11

What are the signs and symptoms of inflammatory diarrhoea?

Answer 11

abdominal pain due to inflammation 
blood and pus in stools due to inflammatory components 
bowel distension 
fever 
abdominal tenderness