Gastrointestinal disorders in Childhood Flashcards
what are the causes of abdominal pain
- Constipation
- Functional/RAP (recurrent abdominal pain)/IBS
- Duodenal ulcers/Helicobacter Pylori
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
what are the causes of chronic vomiting/haemetemesis
- GOR.
- Intestinal Obstruction (if bile) intermittent.
- DU (rare).
what are the causes of chronic diarrhoea
• IBD
.
What are the causes of failure to thrive/weight loss
- Coeliac
* Cystic Fibrosis
what are the causes of rectal bleeding/blood stools
- IBD
- Chron’s/UC
- Fissures/haemorrhoids
- Polyps/polyposis syndromes
- Infection (bacterial).
what are the symptoms of IBD
o Weight loss
o Abdominal pains
o Tiredness
o Rectal bleeding
what is the normal bowel habit of young children
- 85% of 1 to 4 year olds pass stools once or twice a day
* 96% do so three times per day to once every other day
what are functional GI disorders
- There are GI symptoms with no evidence of inflammatory, anatomic, metabolic or neoplastic processes that explains the subject’s symptoms
what is the definition of constipation
– Infrequent, hard stools (or difficulty/delay in defecation leading to distress)
what is the definition of soiling
– Escape of stool into the underclothes
what is the definition of encopresis
– The passage of normal stools in abnormal places
How many stools do you pass less than for consptiation
o Passing less than 3 stools per week
OR if painful bowel movements due to hard/large stools and stool retention in spite of passing >3 times per week.
describe the idiagsnotci criteria for functional constipation
Must include 2 or more of the following occurring at least once per week for a minimum of 1 month with insufficient criteria for a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome:
(1) 2 or fewer defecations in the toilet per week in a child of a developmental age of at least 4 years
(2) At least 1 episode of fecal incontinence per week
(3) History of retentive posturing or excessive volitional stool retention
(4) History of painful or hard bowel movements
(5) Presence of a large fecal mass in the rectum
(6) History of large diameter stools that can obstruct the toilet
what is the presentation of constipation
- ‘Diarrhoea/soiling, most common in younger age group
- Infrequent bowel movements 58%
- Painful bowel movements 77-86%
- Palpable rectal abdominal mass 66-77%
- Acute abdominal pain
- Recurrent UTI (3.7-30%).
why is constipation a function GI disorder
• No physical or physiological cause
how many pre-school children are affected by constipation
• >90% of pre-school children.
what are organic causes of constipation and how would you investigate them
- Hirschsprungs - rectal biopsy
- hypothyroidism - growth failure so check TSH
- neurologic - examines the spine and lower limbs
- anal stenosis - examination
How do you examine someone with constipation
- Failure to thrive.
- Distended abdomen
- Abnormal anus, empty rectum on PR found in Hirschsprungs.
- Sacral dimples, other neurological abnormalities.
How do you explain the causes of constipation to someone
– Reassure not organic disease
– length of treatment is long if they have had consitpation for long(12 plus months)
– explain that Diet could have an impact (5 units etc)
How to you treat consitpation
- use high dose laxatives or enemas to clear out then use maintenance therapy Maintenance therapy • Softener – Movicol (PEG 4000) • Stimulant – Senna or picosulphate • Rectal washout - Enemas/Peristeem
What is GORD
Passive regurgitation of gastric/duodenal contents into oesophagus
what muscles does vomiting involve contraction of
Vomiting involves active contraction of diaphragm and abdominal muscles
what does reflex present like with children who are greater than three years old
- heart burn
- brash
- vomiting
- oesophagi’s
- usually have history of reflux as an infant
what is the objective and subjective symptoms that GORD can cause
– Objective damage (oesophagitis)
– Subjective severe symptoms (vomiting/heartburn etc)
what are the RED flags and pink flags for GORS
Red Flags o Haemetemesis o Failure to thrive o Sandifers syndrome (back arching in infants) o Aspiration pneumonia.
Pink Flags
o Daily symptoms for longer than 12 months
o Failed empiric theraphy
what are they uncertain amount causing GORD or being symptoms of GROD
o Feeding refusal
o Irritability
o Acute life threatening events
o Chest infections