Gastro-oesophageal Inflammation and Peptic Ulceration Flashcards
What can acute cause oesophagitis?
- Immunocompromised
- Herpes simplex viruses
- Candida
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
What can cause chronic oesophagitis?
- Tuberculosis
- Bullous pemphigoid and epidermolysis bullosa
- Crohn’s disease
- Reflux oesophagitis (non-specific)
What can cause an ‘incompetent’ GO junction and therefore GORD?
- alcohol and tobacco
- Obesity
- Drugs e.g caffeine
- Hiatus hernia
- Motility disorders
What happens to the epithelium in GORD?
- Squamus epithelium damaged
- Eosinophils epithelial infiltration
- Basal cell hyperplasia
- Chronic inflammation
What can severe reflux lead to?
- Ulceration
- May lead to healing by fibrosis:
Stricture
Obstruction
Who is usually affected by Barrett’s Oesophagus?
- Men aged 40-60
How much more likely is adenocarcinoma of distal oesophagus with Barrett’s Oesophagus?
100x
What is the main feature of Barrett’s Oesophagus?
Intestinal METAPLASIA
What is acute gastritis?
- Usually due to chemical injury (drugs/NSAIDs, alcohol)
- H pylori-associated
Usually transient phase
Often becomes chronic
What is chronic gastritis?
- Active chronic (H pylori-associated)
- Autoimmune
- Chemical (reflux)
What is the appearence of H pylori?
- Gram negative
- Spiral shaped or curved bacilli
How is H pylori spread?
- Oral-oral
- Faecal-oral
- Enviromental spread
What space does H pylori occupy?
- Protected niche beneath mucus where pH approx. neutral
- Does not colonise intestinal type epithelium
What percentage of active chronic gastritis is caused by H pylori?
90%
What does helicobacter pylori cause?
- Gastric and duodenal ulcers
- Risk factor for gastric cancer
- Strong link with MALT (Mucosa Associated lymphoid Tissue) Lymphoma
What is an ulcer?
The breaking of epithelium
Describe the pathology of Helicobacter Pylori
- Swims through gastric fluid and into mucus layer
- Once in mucosal layer they produce urease which neutralises acid
- The H pylori divide and produce more urease, this triggers the stomach to produce more HCl
- Huge amounts of acid build up damaging the protected mucu layer and then destroy surface epithelium of stomach leading to the creating of an ulcer
What are the symptoms of a H pylori infection?
Acute infection with symptoms of: - Nausea - Dyspepsia - Malaise - Halitosis Usually lasts about 2 wks