Dyspepsia Flashcards
What are 3 situations when you should make an urgent referral for endoscopy someone who has dyspepsia?
- All patients with dysphagia
- All patients with upper abdominal mass consistent with stomach cancer
- Patients >55 years who have weight loss and any of the following:
- upper abodminal pain
- reflux
- dyspepsia
What are 5 situations when you should make a non-urgent referral for endoscopy?
- Patients with haematemesis
- Aged >55 and treatment-resistant dyspepsia
- Aged >55 and upper abdominal pain with low haemoglobin levels
- Aged >55 and raised platelet count with any of the following: nausea, vomiting, weight loss, reflux, dyspepsia, upper abdominal pain
- Aged >55 with nausea or vomiting with any of the following: weight loss, reflux, dyspepsia, upper abdominal pain
What are the 4 aspects of management of patients who have dyspepsia but do don’t meet referral criteria for dyspepsia?
- Review medications for possible causes of dyspepsia
- Lifestyle advice
- Trial of full-dose proton pump inhibitor for one month OR test and treat approach for H.pyloria
- If symptoms persist after either of the above approaches (PPI for month/test and treat H. Pylori), try the other one
What are 3 options for testing for H. pylori infection?
- Carbon-13 urea breath test
- Stool antigen test
- Laboratory-based serology ‘where performance has been locally validated’
What does test and treat for H. pyloria involve?
- make initial diagnosis with urea breath test/stool antigen test/ serology
- test of cure:
- don’t check for eradication if symptoms have resolves following test and treat
- if repeat testing is required then carbon-13 urea breath test should be used
If repeat testing is required for H. pyloria infection after treatment (as symptoms haven’t resolved), which test should be used?
carbon 13 urea breath test
What is the relationship between endoscopy appearance and symptoms in GORD?
poor correlation between the 2
What are 5 indications for upper GI endoscopy in the case of GORD?
- Age >55 years
- Symptoms >4 weeks or persistent symptoms despite treatment
- Dysphagia
- Relapsing symptoms
- Weight loss
What is the test that should be performed if endoscopy is negative for GORD?
consider 24-hr oesophageal pH monitoring
What is the gold standard test for diagnosis of GORD?
24hr oesophageal pH monitoring
What is the definition of GOrD?
symptoms of oesophagitis secondary to refluxed gastric contents
What do NICE recommend about the management of GORD?
treat as per the dyspepsia guidelines
What are 3 steps to treatment of endoscopically-proven oesophagitis?
- Full-dose PPI for 1-2 months
- If response, low dose treatment as required
- If no response, double-dose PPI for 1 month
What are 3 steps to the management of endoscopically negative reflux disease?
- Full dose PPI for 1 month
- If response then offer low dose treatment, possibly on an as-required basis, with a limited number of repeat prescriptions
- If no response then H2RA or prokinetic for 1 month
What are 6 complications of GORD?
- Oesophagitis
- Ulcers
- Anaemia
- Benign strictures
- Barrett’s oesophagus
- Oesophageal carcinoma
How can GOR (gastro-oesphageal reflux) present in infancy?
vomiting - GOR is commonest cause in infancy
What proportion of infants regurgitate their feeds and what can the cause be?
40% - oerlap between GOR and physiological processes
What are 2 risk factors for GOR in infants?
- Pre-term delivery
- Neurological disorders
At what age does gastro-oesophageal reflux typically develop in infancy?
before 8 weeks
How is a diagnosis of GOR usually made in infants?
clinically
What are 5 aspects of the management of reflux in infants?
- Advise regarding position during feeds - 30 degree head up
- Infants should sleep on backs
- Ensure not overfed (as per their weight), consider trial of smaller and more frequent feeds
- Trial of thickened formula (e.g. containing rice starch, cornstarch, locust bean gum, carob bean gum)
- Trial of alginate therapy e.g. Gaviscon
What is the advice regarding thickened feeds and alginate therapy when treating GOR in babies?
don’t try it at the same time
What are 4 ingredients that thickened baby formula might contain?
- Rice starch
- Cornstarch
- Locust bean gum
- Carob bean gum
What is the NICE advice about use of PPI in infants? What are the 3 situations when you should consider using them?
don’t recommend its use if overt regurgitation occurs as an isolated symptom; trial if 1 or more of the following apply -
- unexplained feeding difficulties e.g. refusing feeds, gagging, choking
- distressed behaviour
- faltering growth
Why is ranitidine withdrawn from the market?
small amounts of the carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) were discovered in products from a number of manufacturers
What is a medication for GOR in infants that should only be used with specialist advice?
prokinetic agents e.g. metoclopramide
What are 5 complicatiosn of reflux in infants and children?
- distress
- failure to thrive
- aspiration
- frequent otitis media
- in older children dental erosion may occur
In infants, if there are severe complications of gastro-oesophageal reflux e.g. failure to thrive and medical treatment is ineffective, what intervention can be considered?
fundoplication - wrapping top part of stomach around lower oesophagus
What is the peak age of gastric cancer?
70-80 years
In which regions is gastric cancer more common?
Japan, China, Finland, Colombia
(more so than the West)