Gastroenterology Flashcards
UGIB
Bleeding from upper GI tract
UGIB causes
- peptic ulcers - gastro/duodenal
- MW tear
- oesophageal varices
- stomach cancer
- oesophagitis / GORD
- AV malformation / aorto-enteric fistula
UGIB Px
- haematemesis
- coffee ground vomit
- melaena
- shock
- abdo pain - ulcers
UGIB Ix
Bloods
- VBG, FBC, U/E, LFTs, CRP, coag, G+S, crossmatch
Glasgow-Blatchford Score
> 0 - high risk for GI bleed
UGIB Mx
- ABCDE
- 2x large bore IV access
- Blood transfusion / MHP
- stop anticoagulants / NSAIDs
- reverse anticoagulation, eg vit K, PCC
- variceal - terlipressin, abx
- OGD - clips / thermal coagulation / variceal band ligation
- Rockall score
- Sengstaken-Blakemore tube
- PPI post-OGD
- consider IR / surgery
Varices prophylaxis
- propranalol
- variceal band ligation
Peptic ulcer disease (PUD)
ulcer in mucosa of stomach / duodenum
PUD causes
- NSAIDs
- H pylori
- Ischaemia of gastric cells
- Overproduction of acid - stress
- alcohol, caffeine, smoking, spicy foods
- Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Bleeding risk increased with
- NSAIDs, aspirin, anticoags, steroids, SSRIs
PUD Px
- epigastric discomfort / pain - gastric worsens pain, duodenal pain improves on eating, then worsens in 2-3hrs
- wt loss
- N+V
- dyspepsia - beware ALARMS - anaemia, loss of weight, anorexia, recent onset sx, melaena, haematemesis, dysphagia
- UGIB - haematemesis, coffee ground vomit, melaena, low Hb
PUD Ix
- FBC
- OGD
H pylori Ix
- urea breath test
- stool antigen test
- rapid urease test - CLO test
- serological IgG test
- biopsy
PUD Mx
Stop NSAIDs / causes
- PPIs - lansoprazole / omeprazole
- H2 receptor antagonist - ranitidine / cimetidine
- rpt OGD in 4-8wks to check healing
H pylori Mx
- PPI - lansoprazole
- 2 abx - amoxicillin + clari / met (clari + met if pen allergic)
PUD Cx
- bleeding
- perforation
- acute pancreatitis
- scarring, strictures -> gastric outlet obstruction
GORD
Flow of acid from stomach through LOS into oesophagus
GORD Causes
- LOS hypotension
- hiatus hernia - sliding / rolling
- SSc, achalasia
- obesity
- overeating, greasy/spicy foods, coffee/tea
- smoking, alcohol, pregnancy
- TCAs, anticholinergics, nitrates, NSAIDs
GORD Px
- dyspepsia
- retrosternal / epigastric pain
- bloating
- nocturnal cough
- hoarse voice
- eased with burping
- food / acid brash
- water brash
GORD Red Flags - need 2ww for OGD
- Dysphagia (at any age)
- > 55
- Weight loss
- Upper abdo pain
- Reflux
- Tx-resistant
- N+V
- Upper abdo mass
- Low Hb
- Raised platelets
ALARMS
- anaemia
- loss of weight
- anorexia
- recent onset sx
- masses / melaena / haematemesis
- swallowing difficulty
GORD Ix
- OGD
- barium swallow
- H pylori Ix
- 24hr oesophageal pH monitoring
GORD Mx
- reduce tea, coffee, alcohol / wt loss / stop smoking / smaller meals
- antacids - Gaviscon, rennie
- PPIs - omeprazole, lansoprazole
- H2 antagonist - ranitidine, famotidine
- laparoscopic fundoplication
GORD Cx
Barrett’s oesophagus
- lower oesophageal epithelium changes from stratified squamous to simple columnar - premalignant for adenocarcinoma
- Mx - endoscopic monitoring, PPI, ablation / resection
Peptic stricture
- narrowing
- Px - intermittent dysphagia, worsening
- Mx - endoscopic dilatation, long term PPI
MW tear
Iron deficiency
Ulcers
Oesophagitis
UC
Relapsing / remitting inflammatory disorder of colonic mucosa
UC Patho
- inappropriate immune response against colonic flora
- only mucosal, crypt abscesses, goblet cell mucin depleted, continuous inflammation, starts at rectum, looks like polyps
- smoking protective
Associations
- PSC, erythema nodosum, pyoderma gangrenosum, enteropathic arthritis, episcleritis, scleritis, anterior uveitis
UC Px
- Insidious / intermittent sx
- Bloody diarrhoea
- Urgency
- Tenesmus
- Abdo pain
- Fatigue, weight loss
- Blood / mucus in stools
UC flares
- worsening of sx
- eg from stress, meds, cessation of smoking
Mild
- <4 stools/d
- no systemic disturbance
- normal ESR / CRP
Moderate
- 4-6 stools/d
- minimal systemic disturbance
Severe
- > 6 stools/d
- fever, tachy, abdo tenderness/distention, anaemia, hypoalbuminaemia
UC Ix
- FBC, CRP, U/E, LFT, TFTs
- Stool MC+S
- faecal calprotectin
- colonoscopy + biopsy
- CT / MRI
UC Mx
- aim to induce / maintain remission
Mild
- mesalazine - rectal, then oral
- steroids - prednisolone - oral / rectal
Moderate
- oral prednisolone
- continue mesalazine
Severe
- admit
- IV fluids
- IV hydrocortisone
- azathioprine, mercaptopurine, ciclosporin, MAbs
- Surgery - colectomy, tx strictures/fistulas/abscess
UC Cx
- colonic cancer
- toxic dilatation of colon
- perforation
Crohn’s
Chronic inflammatory disease characterised by transmural granulomatous inflammation
Crohn’s patho
- any part of gut affected
- most commonly terminal ileum - site of B12 absorption
- strictures / fistulas
- transmural inflammation, goblet cells, granulomas, skip lesions, cobblestone appearance
RFs
smoking, NSAIDs, FHx
Crohn’s Px
- Abdo pain
- Diarrhoea
- Weight loss
- Fatigue, fever, malaise, anorexia
- Inflammatory associations as above
- Clubbing
- Mouth ulcers
- Blood / mucus less common
Crohn’s Ix
- Bloods - FBC, CRP, U/E, LFT, TFT, B12/folate
- stool MC+S
- faecal calprotectin
- colonoscopy + biopsy
- CT / MRI
Crohn’s Mx
Induce remission
- oral prednisolone / IV hydrocortisone
- mesalazine
- azathioprine / mercaptopurine / methotrexate / infliximab / adalimumab
Maintain remission
- azathioprine / mercaptopurine
- methotrexate
Surgery
- resect distal ileum, tx strictures / fistulas / abscesses
Coeliac disease
- autoimmune inflammatory condition triggered by eating gluten
Coeliac disease patho
- anti-TTG / anti-EMA ABs created in response to gluten - target epithelial cells in SI
- jejunum particularly affected
- crypt hypertrophy + villous atrophy -> malabsorption
Associations
- autoimmune thyroid disease
- T1DM
- dermatitis herpetiformis
Coeliac disease Px
- asym
- failure to thrive (children)
- diarrhoea
- bloating
- fatigue
- wt loss
- mouth ulcers
- dermatitis herpetiformis - itchy, blistering skin rash - on abdo
- anaemia
- neuro sx - peripheral neuropathy, ataxia, epilepsy
Coeliac disease Ix
- Bloods - FBC, ferritin, haematinics, LFTs, anti-TTG, total IgA
- endoscopy, biopsy (traditionally duodenum, but also jejunum)
Coeliac disease Mx
- lifelong gluten diet
- immunisations - eg pneumococcal due to functional hyposplenism
IBS
Mixed group of abdo sx with no organic cause (functional)
- IBS-C/D/M - constipation/diarrhoea/mixed
- disorder in brain-gut axis - abnormal smooth muscle activity
- various causes
IBS Px
- Abdo pain
- Diarrhoea
- Constipation
- Change in bowel habit
- Bloating
- Worse after eating
- Improved by opening bowels
- Passing mucus
- Sx >6mo for dx
IBS - red flags to exclude
- Rectal bleeding / blood in stool
- Weight loss
- FHx bowel / ovarian cancer
- > 60yo
- Nocturnal sx
- Anaemia
IBS Ix
- Bloods - FBC, CRP/ESR, anti-TTG, CA125 (ovarian ca)
- faecal calprotectin
IBS Mx
- fluids, fibre, limit caffeine/fatty foods, FODMAP, exercise
- diarrhoea - loperamide
- constipation - ispaghula husk / linaclotide
- anti-spasmodics - mebeverine, buscopan, peppermint oil
- low dose amitriptyline, SSRIs, CBT/hypnotherapy
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD)
- liver disease from alcohol consumption
fatty liver -> alcoholic hepatitis -> alcoholic steatosis -> cirrhosis
ALD Patho
Fatty liver
- cells swollen with fat from alcohol metabolism, reversible
Alcoholic hepatitis
- inflammation, fatty change, leukocyte infiltration, necrosis, mallory bodies
Liver cirrhosis
- fibrosis, irreversible
ALD Px
Fatty liver
- asym
- N+V, diarrhoea
- hepatomegaly
Hepatitis
- jaundice, ascites, abdo pain, fever, hepatomegaly
- sx of chronic disease
Cirrhosis
- chronic disease - ascites, bruising, Dupuytren’s etc
ALD Ix
- Bloods - FBC, LFT (raised ALT/AST, raised GGT, later raised ALP, raised bilirubin in cirrhosis, low albumin), coag, U/E
- liver USS - fatty changes / cirrhosis
- transient elastography (Fibroscan)
- CT / MRI
- liver biopsy
ALD Mx
- stop drinking
- CBT / motivational interviewing
- tx cx - eg thiamine, detox
- prednisolone
- liver transplant
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
- excessive fat in liver
Patho
- steatosis - fat liver
- Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) - fat with inflammation
- fibrosis/cirrhosis later on
RFs
- older, obesity, poor diet, sedentary, T2DM, high cholesterol, HTN, smoking
NAFLD Px
- asym
- hepatomegaly
NAFLD Ix
- bloods - LFTs, enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test
- USS - increased echogenicity
- NAFLD fibrosis score
- FIB-4 score
- Fibroscan
- liver biopsy
NAFLD Mx
- diet, weight, stop smoking
- specialist mx - vit E, pioglitazone, bariatric surgery, liver transplant
Acute liver failure
- acute deterioration in liver function
Patho
- hepatic encephalopathy
- coagulopathy
- ascites
- jaundice
Causes
- paracetamol OD
- alcohol
- viral hepatitis
- acute fatty liver of pregnancy
- HCC, Wilson’s, A1AT deficiency
Acute liver failure Px
- jaundice
- coagulopathy - bleeding, bruising
- hypoalbuminaemia - ascites
- hepatic encephalopathy - confusion, coma, asterixis, drowsiness, slurred speech, behaviour change, apraxia
- renal failure
- fever, vomiting
- fetor hepaticus
- maybe sx of chronic disease
Acute liver failure Ix
- Bloods - inc LFTs, PTT, albumin, coag, FBC, U/E, culture, viral serology
- USS, CT/MRI, CT head
- avoid liver biopsy if coagulation derranged
- EEG - encephalopathy
Acute liver failure Mx
- tx cause
- liver transplant
Liver cirrhosis
- fibrosis of liver from chronic inflammation
- collagen deposition + scarring
Liver cirrhosis causes
- Alcohol liver disease
- NAFLD
- Hep B/C
- Autoimmune hepatitis
- Primary biliary cirrhosis
- Haemochromatosis, Wilson’s, A1AT deficiency
- CF
- Drugs - amiodarone, methotrexate, sodium valproate
Liver cirrhosis Px
- leukonychia
- finger clubbing
- palmar erythema
- Dupuytren’s contracture
- spider naevi >5
- xanthelasma
- loss of body hair
- jaundice
- HSM
- bruising
- ankle swelling, oedema, ascites
- caput medusae
- cachexia
- gynaecomastia, testicular atrophy
Liver cirrhosis Ix
- bloods - LFTs, coag, FBC, U/E, AFP (HCC)
- NILS
- US liver
- enhanced liver fibrosis test
- fibroscan
- CT / MRI
- liver biopsy
- Model for End-Stage liver disease (MELD) score
- Child-Pugh Score
Liver cirrhosis Mx
- tx cause
- monitor cx - 6mo US/AFP, 3yrly OGD
- ascites - fluid restrict, spironolactone, furosemide, paracentesis
- liver transplant
Liver cirrhosis Cx
- malnutrition
- varices
- portal HTN
- ascites
- SBP
- hepatorenal syndrome
- hepatic encephalopathy
Portal HTN
- high pressure in hepatic portal vein from liver cirrhosis, increased resistance
- leads to ascites, splenomegaly, varices, caput medusae, collateral vessel formation
Portal HTN causes
Pre-hepatic
- portal vein thrombosis
intra-hepatic
- cirrhosis
- schistosomiasis
- sarcoidosis
Post-hepatic
- RHF
- constrictive pericarditis
- IVC obstruction
- Budd-Chiari syndrome
Portal HTN Px
- Splenomegaly
- Caput medusae
- Ascites
- Sx of liver disease / other cx
- Sx of varices
Portal HTN Ix
- for liver disease - bloods, biopsy, CT/MRI etc
- Abdo US / doppler US
- hepatic venous pressure gradient
- vascular imaging
Portal HTN Mx
- tx cause, liver transplant
- BBs / nitrates
- TIPS
- salt restriction, diuretics
Ascites
free fluid in peritoneal cavity
Ascites causes
Inflammation
- peritonitis
- infection, TB
- abdo cancer, ovarian
- intra-abdo surgery
Low protein
- hypoalbuminaemia
- nephrotic syndrome
- malnutrition
Low flow
- cirrhosis, portal HTN
- Budd Chiari syndrome
- Cardiac failure
- constrictive pericarditis
Ascites classification
Serum ascitic albumin gradient (SAAG) = serum albumin - ascitic fluid albumin
High SAAG >1.1g/dL - transudate
- Cirrhosis, portal HTN
- Acute liver failure
- Budd Chiari syndrome
- Portal vein thrombosis
- Cardiac failure
- Constrictive pericarditis
Low SAAG <1.1g/dL - exudate
- Malignancy
- Infection
- Pancreatitis
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Peritoneal TB
Ascites Px
- Abdo swelling
- Distention
- Shifting dullness
- Peripheral oedema
- Weight gain
- Abdo pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Sx of liver disease
Ascites Ix
- abdo exam, shifting dullness
- Bloods
- USS / CT / MRI
- Ascitic tap - SAAG, raised WCC, culture, cytology, amylase
Ascites Mx
- tx cause
- low Na diet, fluid restriction
- oral spironolactone
- add furosemide
- paracentesis - ascitic tap / drain
- human albumin solution
- prophylactic abx - eg oral cipro
- TIPS
- liver transplant