Gastrointestinal disorders Flashcards
What are some etiologies of gastroparesis?
- Idiopathic
- Diabetes mellitus
- Medications - a2 agonists, TCAs, CCBs, octreotide
- Post-surgical - injury to vagus nerve, e.g. fundoplications, Roux-en-Y
- Neurologic disease, e.g. Parkinson
- Autoimmune
UpToDate
What are the clinical manifestations of gastroparesis?
- nausea (93%)
- vomiting (68 - 84%)
- abdominal pain (46 - 90%)
- early satiety (60 - 86%)
- postprandial fullness, bloating
- in severe cases, weight loss
UpToDate
What is the workup for suspected gastroparesis?
- Rule out mechanical obstruction: Upper endoscopy, CT, MRI
-
Assess gastric motility: gastric emptying scintigraphy, wireless motility capsule
* UpToDate*
What is the initial treatment approach for gastroparesis?
- Dietary modification:
- Fats and fiber move more slowly through the GI tract - eat diet low in fat and only soluble fiber
- Avoid carbonated beverages, alcohol, smoking
- Hydration and nutrition - repeated vomiting may lead to electrolyte imbalance and/or dehydration
- Optimize glycemic control
- Prokinetics - metoclopramide, erythromycin
* UpToDate*
What is the treatment approach to refractory gastroparesis?
- Jejunostomy for nutrition
- PEG for decompression of upper GI tract
- TCAs, gastric electrical stimulation
* UpToDate*
Diagnostic criteria for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis:
- presence of ascites (no ascites, no SBP)
- Polymorphonuclear cell count in ascitic fluid > 250
-
Positive culture of ascitic fluid (but don’t wait for results to start treatment - if above are true, start empiric therapy)
* UpToDate*
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis almost exclusively occurs in patients with _____.
cirrhosis
What are the clinical manifestations of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis?
- Fever
- Abdominal pain & tenderness
- Altered mental status
- Diarrhea
- Paralytic ileus, hypotension, hypothermia
UpToDate
How is spontaneous bacterial peritonitis treated?
- Empiric antibiotics: IV third-generation cephalosporin -> cefotaxime, ceftriaxone
-
Albumin 1.5 g/kg IV reduces mortality
* UpToDate, Medscape*
What are the complications of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis?
SBP *is* the complication - of cirrhosis! It’s bad news - 40-70% mortality
Medscape
What are the 4 main etiologies of ascites?
- Portal hypertension (e.g. cirrhosis, HF)
- Hypoalbuminemia (e.g. nephrotic syndrome, severe malnutrition)
- Peritoneal disease (e.g. ovarian cancer)
- Other (e.g. myxedema, disrupted pancreatic duct)
* UTD*
What are the clinical manifestations of ascites?
- abdominal discomfort
- shortness of breath
- early satiety
- weight gain
UTD
What is the diagnostic workup for ascites?
- Physical exam
- Ultrasound
- Paracentesis to determine cause of ascites
* UTD*
How is the cause of ascites determined?
Assessing the ascitic fluid:
- appearance - cloudy, bloody, etc.
- serum-to-ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) determination
- cell count and differential
- total protein concentration
Plus basically every single test available for serum: glucose, LDH, gram stain, triglycerides, etc.
UTD
What is SAAG and what is it for?
Serum-ascites albumin gradient -> to help determine cause of ascites
_To calculate: _
(albumin concentration of serum) - (albumin concentration of ascitic fluid)
To use it:
HIGH difference in the two: ascites is due to portal hypertension, e.g. cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis, HF, Budd-Chiari syndrome
LOW difference in the two: ascites is not due to portal hypertension, e.g. pancreatitis, nephrotic syndrome
What is the biggest risk factor for gastric adenocarcinoma and gastric lymphoma?
H. pylori
Name 4 environmental risk factors for gastric adenocarcinoma.
~high nitrate diet
~low vitamin C
~hx pernicious anemia
~hx gastric resection
What are the s/s of gastric cancer?
- Generally asymptomatic until quite advanced
- Dyspepsia, epigastric pain, anorexia, early satiety, weight loss
- Ulcerating lesions can lead to bleeding and hematemesis or melena
- Pyloric obstruction leads to postprandial vomiting
- LES obstruction leads to dysphagia
- Palpable gastric mass is NOT COMMON
Sign of metastatic spread:
Virchow node! (left supraclavicular)
~No specific lab findings other than IDA if bleeding or liver test abnormalities if hepatic metastasis
CURRENT
What is the diagnostic workup for suspected gastric cancer?
Upper endoscopy for all patients over 55 with new dyspepsia or in any patient with dyspepsia that fails to respond to a PPI trial
CURRENT