Gastrointestinal emergencies Flashcards
Cardiovascular causes of the acute abdomen?
- Acute coronary syndrome
- Acute mesenteric ischaemia
- Ruptured AAA
- Aortic dissection
Gastrointestinal causes of the acute abdomen?
- GI tract perforation
- Mechanical bowel obstruction
- Acute appendicitis
- Peptic ulcer disease
- Diverticulitis
- Constipation
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Biliary and pancreatic causes of the acute abdomen?
- Acute pancreatitis
- Gallstones
- Acute cholecystitis
- Ascending cholangitis
Genitourinary causes of the acute abdomen?
- Ruptured ectopic pregnancy
- Ovarian torsion
- Testicular torsion
- Acute pyelonephritis
- Kidney stones
Presentation of ruptured AAA?
- Sudden, severe chest/abdominal pain, radiates to the back
- Hypotension/shock
- Pulsatile mass in abdomen
Diagnosis of ruptured AAA?
- If the patient is unstable, diagnosis should not delay management.
- If the patient is hemodynamically stable, abdominal ultrasound can confirm diagnosis.
- CT/MR angiography can be used to localise rupture site and plan surgical management.
Presentation of oesophageal rupture?
- Mackler’s triad:
- Vomiting and/or retching
- Severe retrosternal pain that radiates to the back
- Subcutaneous/mediastinal emphysema
- Crackling sound when auscultating mediastinal region (Hamann sign)
What is Boerhaave syndrome?
- Transmural oesophageal rupture secondary to severe vomiting/coughing
- Risk factors include chronic cough, alcoholism, repeated episodes of vomiting
Diagnosis of oesophageal rupture?
- Chest x-ray
- Widened mediastinum
- Pneumomediastinum
- Pleural effusion
- CT scan
- Same findings as CXR
What is shown on this x-ray?
- Pneumomediastinum (shown in green)
- This patient has Boerhaave syndrome (oesophageal rupture)
Management of oesophageal rupture?
- ABCDE approach
- Nil-by-mouth
- Broad-spectrum IV antibiotic prophylaxis
- Non-surgical (expectant) management:
- Small, contained perforation
- Surgical management:
- Haemodynamic instability or larger perforation
- Surgical closure of the rupture
Complications of peptic ulcer disease?
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
- Gastric ulcers of the lesser curvature may cause bleeding from the left gastric artery
- Posterior duodenal arteries may cause bleeding from the gastroduodenal artery
- Perforation
Presentation of a perforated peptic ulcer?
- Sudden, diffuse abdominal pain
- Peritonism (guarding and rebound/percussion tenderness)
- Fever, tachycardia, hypotension
- Shoulder-tip pain (irritation of the phrenic nerve)
Diagnosis of a perforated peptic ulcer?
- Upright chest x-ray
- 75% will have free air under the diaphragm
- Diagnosis is usually clinical
Management of a perforated peptic ulcer?
- ABCDE
- Fluid resuscitation
- Nil-by-mouth
- Surgical repair using a patch of omentum
Presentation of GI perforation?
- Sudden-onset diffuse abdominal pain
- Constipation/obstipation
- Nausea/vomiting
- Peritonism
- Guarding, rebound tenderness
Diagnosis of GI perforation?
- Chest x-ray:
- Free air under the diaphragm
- Patient must be sat upright
- Can be done quickly in A&E, with much lower radiation dose than an abdominal x-ray
- Abdominal x-ray:
- Pneumoperitoneum
- CT with contrast
- Most sensitive investigation
- Shows pneumoperitoneum
What does this x-ray show?
Pneumoperitoneum (shown in green)
Management of GI perforation?
- Supportive care
- Stable patient
- IV PPI
- Opioid analgesics (unless also bowel obstruction)
- Antiemetics
- Surgical management
- Most patients require an urgent exploratory laparotomy
Commonest causes of small bowel obstruction?
- Bowel adhesions
- Commonest cause
- History of GI surgery
- Incarcerated hernias
- Second commonest cause
Commonest causes of large bowel obstruction?
- Malignancy
- Commonest cause of LBO
- Diverticulitis
- Volvulus
Presentation of mechanical bowel obstruction?
- Colicky abdominal pain
- Obstipation
- Abdominal distension
- Progressive nausea and (bilious) vomiting
- Tinkling bowel sounds
- History of abdominal surgery
Diagnosis of mechanical bowel obstruction?
- Abdominal x-ray
- Distended loops of bowel proximal to the obstruction
- Air-fluid levels
- CT abdomen with contrast
- Similar findings
- Transition point at site of obstruction
How to differentiate between SBO and LBO?
- The folds in the bowel on AXR
- Small bowel folds (valvulae conniventes) = visible across the whole width of the bowel
- Large bowel folds (haustra) = don’t completely transverse the bowel
- Rule of thumb - haustra can sometimes appear to cross the full width of the large bowel.
- The anatomical position of the distended bowel loops
- The history
- SBO = early vomiting, late obstipation
- LBO = early obstipation, late vomiting
What is the 3/6/9 rule?
- Upper limits of normal for the diameter of bowel segments are as follows:
- Small bowel = 3cm
- Large bowel = 6cm
- Caecum = 9cm
Management of mechanical bowel obstruction?
- Nil-by-mouth
- “Drip and suck”
- IV fluids
- Nasogastric tube decompression
- Most will require surgical management
Causes of paralytic ileus (functional bowel obstruction)
- Intraabdominal surgery
- Intraabdominal infection/inflammation
- Medications (e.g. anticholinergics, opioids)
- Hypokalaemia
- Sepsis
The 5 P’s: Peritonitis, Postoperative, low Potassium, Painkillers (opioids), Pelvic/spinal fractures are some of the common causes
Presentation of paralytic ileus?
- Constipation and reduced flatulence
- Continuous (non-colicky) abdominal pain
- Abdominal distention
- Nausea and vomiting
- Decreased or absent bowel sounds
Diagnosis of paralytic ileus?
- CT abdomen
- Gold standard
- Diffuse small and/or large bowel distention
- Abdominal x-ray
- Less sensitive than CT
- Same findings as CT
- Abdominal ultrasound
- Not routinely used in adults, but is the investigation of choice in children
Management of paralytic ileus?
- Nil-by-mouth
- “Drip and suck”
- IV fluids
- NG tube decompression
- Correct underlying cause if possible
- Avoid opiate analgesia
Presentation of acute appendicitis?
- Abdominal pain
- Initially central/diffuse
- Eventually localises to RIF
- Fever
- Tachycardia
- Nausea/anorexia
Examination
- Rosving’s sign - palpation of LIF causes RIF pain
- Psoas sign - extension of right leg (in L lateral position) causes RIF pain
Diagnosis of acute appendicitis?
- FBC
- Neutrophilic leukocytosis
- Abdominal ultrasound
- Distended, aperistaltic appendix
- Abdominal CT scan
- Periappendiceal fat stranding
- Distended appendix
Management of acute appendicitis?
- Laparoscopic appendicectomy
- Prophylactic IV antibiotics
- If the appendix has perforated then patients will need a peritoneal lavage
Causes of intussusception?
- No identifiable cause in 75%
- Meckel’s diverticulum (commonest cause found in children)
- Polyps/malignancy (commonest cause found in adults)
- Enlarged Peyer’s patches
- Lymphoid patches on the wall of the ileum
- Can become hypertrophied after infection/vaccination
Presentation of intussusception?
- Acute colicky abdominal pain
- Infants often draw legs up during episodes
- Sausage-shaped RUQ mass
- Vomiting
- “Redcurrant jelly” stools (due to PR bleeding)
Diagnosis of intussusception?
- Abdominal ultrasound (best initial investigation)
- Target sign - telescoping section of bowel appears as rings on a target
- Contrast enema with ultrasound/fluoroscopy (best confirmatory test)
- Abdominal CT
- Used if the diagnosis is equivocal after ultrasound and AXR
Management of intussusception?
- NGT decompression and fluid resuscitation if needed
- Non-surgical
- Air enema is the treatment of choice
- Surgical management
- Indicated if the patient is unstable (e.g. perforation) or if a pathological lead point is suspected (e.g. malignancy)