GI Flashcards
What are some causes of acute, abrupt onset, abdominal pain?
- Perforation
- Ruptured abscess
- Obstruction
- Intestinal infarction
- Acute cardiac or pulmonary event
- Ruptured ectopic pregnancy
- Ruptured aortic aneurysm
What are some causes of acute, gradual onset, abdominal pain?
- Acute inflammation
- Strangulated hernia
- Intestinal obstruction
- Pelvic pathology
What are some causes of acute, intermittent, abdominal pain?
- Partial obstruction
- Gastroenteritis
What are some causes of RUQ abdominal pain?
- Pleurisy
- Subdiaphragmatic abscess
- Cholecystitis
- Perforated duodenal ulcer
- Appendicitis
- Perforated colon
- Ectopic pregnancy, TA
What are some causes of LUQ abdominal pain?
- Pleurisy
- Splenic rupture/infarct
- Perforated gastric ulcer
- Pancreatitis
Diverticulitis (splenic flexure) - Perforated colon
- Ectopic pregnancy, TA
What are some causes of RLQ abdominal pain?
- Appendicitis
- Acute cholecystitis
- Acute Crohn’s
- Incarcerated hernia
- Ectopic, TA, torsion
- PID
- Cecal diverticulitis
- Colon cancer
- Leaking aortic aneurysm
What are some causes of LLQ abdominal pain?
- Sigmoid diverticulitis
- PID
- Ectopic, TA
- Perforated sigmoid carcinoma
- Perforated gastric ulcer
- Incarcerated inguinal hernia
- Leaking aortic aneurysm
What are some characteristics of abdominal pain?
- Crampy
- Burning or gnawing
- Sharp of constant
- Change of the pain
What are some different types of abdominal pain?
- Visceral
- Parietal
- Extra-abdominal
- Referred pain
What are some commonly associate symptoms with abdominal pain?
- Fever or chills
- Nausea, vomiting
- Constipation, diarrhea
- Urinary symptoms
- Vaginal bleeding, irregular, missed period
What are some common aggravating or relieving factors associated with abdominal pain?
- Foods
- Bowel activity
- Urination
- Sexual activity
- Exertion
- Position
What are some factors in the PMH do we want to ask about when evaluating abdominal pain?
- Medications
- Recent history immobilization, travel
- Abdominal/gynecological surgery
- Cardiovascular diseases
- GI disorders
- DM, anemia, bone/joint problems
- Gynecological hx
- FH
- Diet or food intolerances, ETOH use
What are some worrisome features in abdominal complaints?
- host
- abrupt onset
- awakens patient from sleep
- unrelenting or worsening pain
- weight loss
- symptoms present < 24 hours
- blood
What are some red flags about the physical exam in assessing abdominal pain?
- shocky
- peritoneal signs
- abdominal distention
- atypical presentation
- change in bowel sounds
What are the features of PERITONITIS?
- P lace: front, back, sides, shoulders
- E lectrolytes fall, shock ensures
- R igidity or rebound
- I mmobile abdomen, patient
- T enderness w/ voluntary guarding
- O bstruction
- N ausea and vomiting
- I ncrease in pulse, decrease in BP
- T emperature elevation, tachypnea
- I ncrease in abdominal girth
- S ilent abdomen
What is primary vs. secondary peritonitis?
- primary spontaneous bacterial peritonitis = peritoneal infection in absence of precipitating factor
- secondary peritonitis = spillage of GI or GU organisms into peritoneal space
what are some causes of abdominal distention?
- fat
- fluid
- feces
- fetus
- flatus
- fibroid
- full bladder
- fatal tumor
general diagnostic studies for abdominal pain
- CBC with diff
- UA
- urine or serum HCG
- CMP
- KUB
- abdominal/pelvic US
- CT scan with contrast unless contraindicated
- CXR
- EKG
52 y/o woman with a vague epigastric pain since yesterday, low grade fever and today has nausea. Unable to eat breakfast. Pain has now radiated to RLQ. Slight loose stools.
- vital signs T:100°, P 99, r 20, BP 140/90
- abdomen: soft
- McBurney sign
- obturator sign
- rosvig sign
- tenderness right perirectal area
What are your differential diagnoses?
- appendicitis
- ruptured ectopic pregnancy
- strangulated hernia
- ovarian cyst
- renal calculi
- regional ileitis
- acute salpingitis
atypical presentation of appendicitis in the elderly
- unexplained weakness, anorexia
- abdominal distention w/ little pain
- sx may be mild, tachycardia
- classic sequence may be absent
- take serious even if rebound tenderness and guarding are absent
- increase in bands without leukocytosis
72 y/o male LLQ w/ low grade fever 99°F developed over the last couple of days. Nausea and increase in flatulence. Hx. of constipation and diverticulosis. Pain has progressively gotten worse over the last 24 hours. VS: T 100°F, P 100, R 26 tenderness to palpation palpable mass LLQ bowel sounds decreased \+rebound tenderness \+ stool guaiac
What are your differential diagnoses?
- diverticulitis
- appedicitis
- IBD, IBS (lactose intolerance)
- colon cancer
- urologic (pyelonephritis)
- in females consider gynecologic
what is diverticulitis?
- most common complication of diverticulosis
- inflammation condition that involves 1 or more colonic diverticula
- always symptomatic
diagnostic studies for diverticulitis
- CBC, CMP
- UA
- stool guaiac
- abdominal plain films
- US abdomen
- *CT with contrast
- delay colonoscopy until after acute episode
treatment for diverticulitis
- clear fluids for 1-2 days, bland diet
- amoxicillin clavulanate 875 mg/125 mg BID or
- ciprofloxacin 500 mg BID +
- metronidazole 500 mg TID
- 7-10 days or afebrile 2-3 days
- dietary restrictions
- indication for hospitalization
- surgery