Gastroenterology Flashcards
Describe the pathology of ulcerative colitis:
- red raw mucus that bleeds easily
- from rectum up to ileocaecal valve, continuous
- can present with toxic megacolon or lead drain pipe colon
- loss of haustrations and pseudo polyps on barium enema
- inflammatory cells infiltrate lamina propriety
- neutrophils migrate to gland walls and create crypt abscesses
- depletion of goblet cells and mucin from epithelium
- no inflammation beyond submucosa (unless fulminant disease)
What are the extra-intestinal manifestations for UC and Crohn’s:
related to disease activity: -episcleritis (more common in Crohn's) -pauciarticular, asymmetrical arthritis -osteoporosis -erythema nodosum not related to disease activity: -uveitis (more common UC) -primary sclerosis cholangitis (more common UC) -polyarticular, symmetrical arthritis -clubbing -pyoderma gangrenosum
What classifies are mild, moderate and severe UC flares?
- mild: <4 stools/day, no systemic disturbance
- moderate: 4-6 stools/day, minimal systemic disturbance
- severe: >6 stools/day, systemic disturbance
How do you treat mild-moderate flare ups and severe flare ups of UC?
mild-moderate:
- proctitis: topical ASA
- procto-sigmoiditis: topical ASA or oral ASA or oral ASA with topical corticosteroid or oral ASA with oral corticosteroid
- extensive disease: hospital, IV ciclosporin, IV corticosteroids
Maintaining remission following mild to moderate UC flare-up and following severe lapse or >=2 exacerbations/year:
mild to moderate:
-proctitis and proctosigmoiditis: topical ASA or oral ASA with rectal ASA or oral ASA
-left sided and extensive: low maintenance dose oral ASA
after severe lapse:
-oral azathioprine
-oral mercaptopurine
Explain the pathology of Crohn’s including histology and what is seen on a small bowel enema:
- anywhere from mouth to anus
- inflammation to serosa - prone to strictures, fistulas, adhesions
- deep ulcers and skip lesions
- goblet cells and granulomas
- Kantor’s string sign
- proximal bowel dilation
- rose-thorn ulcers
- fistulae
Inducing remission in Crohn’s:
- glucocorticoids for 5 days followed by infliximab
- azathioprine or mercaptopurine as add ons with TMPT check
- metronidazole for peri-anal disease
Maintaining remission in Crohn’s:
- azathioprine or mercaptopurine
- methotrexate
What is coeliac disease and what are the typical signs and symptoms:
- autoimune sensitivity to gluten
- villous atrophy leads to malabsorpiton
- HLA DQ8 and DQ2
- diarrhoea
- failure to thrive
- persistent GI symptoms
- fatigue
- weight loss
- anaemia
What are the conditions associated with Coeliac?
- autoimmune thyroid
- dermatitis herpetiformis
- IBS
- type I diabetes
What are the complications of Coeliac?
- anaemia
- hyposplenism
- osteoporosis
- lactose intolerance
- enteropathy associated T cell lymphoma of small intestine
- subfertility
- rarely oesophageal cancer
How do you investigate Coeliac?
- re-introduce gluten 6 weeks before testing
- tissue transglutaminase antibodies
- endomyseal IgA antibodies
- anti-casein
- duodenal biospy: villous atrophy, crypt hyperplasia, increased intraepithelial lymphocytes, lamina propria infiltration with lymphocytes
What is peutz-jeghers and what does it cause?
- autosomal dominant
- LKB1, STK11
- polyps not malignant but manny die from GI cancer
- GI bleeding
- obstruction e.g. intussusception
- hamarmatous polyps
- pigmented lesion on lips, palms, soles and face
What is a pharyngeal pouch and how does it present?
- posteromedial diverticulum through Kilian’s dehiscence
- more common in males and elderly
- causes halitosis, neck swelling which gurgles, dysphagia, regurgitation, aspiration
- manage surgically
What is the main risk factor for oesophageal candidiasis?
steroid inhaler use
How does systemic sclerosis present?
dysphagia CREST -calcinosis -Raynaud's -oeophageal dysmotility -sclerodactlyly -telangiectasia LES pressure is decreased instead of increase (e.g. in achalasia)
How does myasthenia gravis present?
- dysphagia with liquids and solids
- intraocular muscle weakness, ptosis
How does globus hystericus present?
- may have history of anxiety
- symptoms intermittent and relieved by swallowing
- usually painless
What is carcinoid syndrome and how does it present?
- metastases in liver release serotonin
- may also be with lung
- causes flushing, diarrhoea, bronchospasm, hypotension, right heart valve stenosis
- other mol e.g. ECTH and GnRH
- pellagra rare as dietary tryptophan diverted to serotonin by tumour
Presentation of gallstones/cholelithiasis:
- colicky RUQ pain postprandially
- worse after fatty meal - increased CCK contracts bladder
- abnormal LFTs
- n&v
How can you distinguish biliary colic, acute cholecystitis, gallbladder abscess and cholangitis?
- biliary colic: colicky abdominal pain, no jaundice or fever
- acute cholecystitis: Murphy’s sign, sometimes deranged LFTs, vomiting, no jaundice
- gallbladder abscess: swinging pyrexia
- cholangitis: bile duct inflammation secondary to stones, Charcot’s triad, jaundice, severely septic and unwell
What size gallstones can be safely left?
<5mm
Where is diverticulosis most common?
sigmoid colon
Presentation of diverticulitis:
- change in bowel habit
- intermittent LLQ abdo pain
- n&v, bloating
- urinary frequency, urgency, dysuria,
- PR bleeding
- pneumaturia, faecaluria (fistula)
- low grade pyrexia
- reduced bowel sounds
- guarding, rigidity - perforation
- lack of improvement with Tx - abscess
Signs seen in pancreatitis:
- Cullen’s - periumbilical discolouration
- Grey-Turner’s - flank discolouration
- ischaemic Purtscher retinopathy
Factors seen in pancreatitis:
- > 55yo
- hypocalcaemia
- hyperglycaemia
- hypoxia
- neurtophilia
- increased LDH and AST
What are some causes of hyperamylasaemia other than pancreatitis?
- pancreatic pseudocyst
- mesenteric infarct
- perforated viscus
- acute cholecystitis
- DKA
Causes of pancreatitis:
- Gallstones
- Ethanol
- Trauma
- Steroids
- Mumps
- Autoimmune + ascaris infection
- Scorpion venom
- Hypertriglyceridaemia, hyperchylomicronaemia, hypercalcaemia, hypothermia
- ERCP
- Drugs
Complications of pancreatitis:
- peripancreatic fluid collections which may resolve or develop into pseudocysts or abscesses
- pseudocysts - 4 or more weeks after
- pancreatic necrosis
- pancreatic abscess - infected psuedocyst
- haemorrhage
- ARDS
Common features of GI ischaemia:
- abdominal pain
- rectal bleeding
- diarrhoea
- fever
- blood: increased WCC, lactic acidosis
Predisposing factors of GI ischaemia:
- age
- AF
- emboli causes: endocarditis, malignancy
- CVD risk factors: smoking, HTN, diabetes
- cocaine
Most common place for ischaemic colitis and signs on x-ray:
- watershed area e.g. splenic flexure - territory supplied by superior and inferior mesenteric
- thumbprinting on x-ray - mucosal oedema/haemorrhage
Causes of AAA:
- standard arterial disease: HTN, diabetes, smokers
- connected tissue disease