GI, Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Disorders Flashcards
Anorexia
Loss of appetite. Appetite is regulated by the hypothalamus, can be triggered by sense of smell, emotional factors, and certain drugs.
Nausea
Unpleasant subjective sensation that stimulates vomiting center in brainstem. Common causes of nausea include motion sickness, food poisoning, hypoglycemia, and duodenum dissension. The ANS triggers watery salivation, pallor (vasoconstriction), sweating, tachycardia.
Vomiting
Physiologic protective mechanism that limits damage from ingested noxious agents. Deep breaths are important because vomiting ceases respiration from airway closure. Abdominal muscles and diaphragm contract while the gastroesophageal sphincter relaxes.
Accompanied by dizziness, hypotension, and bradycardia. Aspiration pneumonia and metabolic alkalosis are risk factors.
Retching
Without vomitus; involves rhythmic spasmodic movements of the diaphragm, chest wall, and abdominal muscles.
Non-inflammatory acute diarrhea
Self limited course is less/equal to 2 weeks.
Large volume of watery & non-bloody stools. Affects small bowel; disrupts absorption and secretory process. Causes bloating, N/V. Caused by E. coli, C. difficile, S. aureus, Vibrio cholera, and Giardia.
Inflammatory acute diarrhea
Self limited course is less/equal to 2 weeks.
Small volume bloody stool with fever (dysentery), affects colon. LLQ abdominal pain and urgent desire to defecate. Cell invasion pathogens (Salmonella, shigella, yersinia, campylobacter, C. difficile, E. coli).
Chronic diarrhea
Associated with IBS. Symptoms persist over 3-4 weeks for adults or over 4 weeks for infants.
Osmotic diarrhea: Water is pulled into bowel lumen (hyperosmotic); people with lactase deficiency, magnesium ingestion.
Secretory diarrhea: Increased secretory process, occurs in small intestine from overgrowth of pathogens.
Factitious diarrhea: Overuse of laxatives, overconsumption of laxative type foods.
Chronic parasitic infection: Protozoans and immunocompromised patients.
Inflammatory diarrhea
Associated with acute or chronic inflammation. Intrinsic disease of the colon; UC or CD. Frequent and urgency to defecate, colicky abdominal pain and soiled clothes, tenesmus (sensation of inadequate bowel evacuation), painful straining of stool passage.
Constipation
Infrequent of difficult passage of stools. Etiology includes inadequate fiber and fluid intake, bed rest, pregnancy, hemorrhoids, or weak abdominal muscles.
Associated with bowel obstruction (mechanical or paralytic), spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and hypothyroidism (decreased metabolism).
Clinical manifestations of constipation
Bloating, abdominal pain, normal transit constipation is the perceived difficulty in defecation (usually in response to increased fluid and fiber), slow transit constipation involves infrequent bowel movements; innervation alteration (Hirschsprung disease), defecation disorder involves the dysfunction of the pelvic floor and/or anal sphincter.
Constipation diagnosis, plan, interventions
Diagnosis: Med Hx & assessment, digital rectal examination, change in bowel habits (high index of suspicion for colon cancer).
Plan: Healthy lifestyle (increased fluid, fiber, exercise, and smoking cessation), medication reconciliation (narcotics, anticholinergics, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, antacids, and iron supplements).
Interventions: Remove fecal impaction, client education (respond to defecate urge, set aside time after meals to defecate, increase fiber and fluids, moderate exercise, judicious use of laxatives and enemas, 4Ps.
What are the 4 Ps used for hourly rounding?
Potty (offering toileting)
Positioning of client (utilize bed & chair)
Pain management (assess for pain frequently)
Periphery/placement (personal belonging are readily accessible)
Hiatal hernia
Etiology: Stomach protrusion or herniation through the diaphragm
Risk factors: Smoking, obesity, age
Clinical manifestations: Asymptomatic, abdominal pain, esophagitis, GER, difficulty swallowing, sudden/severe chest pain that radiates and is not relieved by antacid, hematemesis, dark stools
Diagnosis: Med Hx & assessment (bowel sounds in thorax), radiography of bowel above diaphragm
Plan: Monitor client
Interventions: Pain management, surgical repair
Evaluation: Herniation resolved
Sliding hiatal hernia (axial)
Bell shaped protrusion of stomach above diaphragm, common and insignificant for asymptomatic clients. Combined with GERDS; impedes esophageal acid clearance; esophagitis.
Paraesophageal hiatal hernia
Stomach portion of fundus enters thorax and protrudes into thorax and progressively enlarges. Requires surgical repair.
GERD
Etiology: Gastric mucosal damage; reflux of gastric contents into esophagus. Associated with post/meal complications; weak/incompetent esophageal sphincter
CM: Heartburn 30-60 minutes after eating, epigastria pain confused with angina and may radiate to retrosternal and throat or shoulder and back. Hoarseness, wheezing, cough.
Diagnosis: Med Hx & assessment, endoscopy to visualize or biopsy or stomach/esophagus.
Plan: Correct underlying causes
Interventions: Smoking cessation, medications (PPIs), eat meals in sitting position, avoid certain foods (alcohol, chocolate, fatty foods, coffee), surgical treatment
Evaluate: Pain free
Peptic ulcer disease
Etiology: Ulcer may affect stomach and/or duodenum, or may penetrate mucosal surface (perforation). Spontaneous remission and exacerbation, lesions replaced with scar tissue.
Risk factors: H. pylori, aspirin and NSAIDS, O blood type, jalapeños.
CM: Dizziness, thirst, hypotension, epigastrium rhythmic pain (burning) occurs on empty stomach in intervals of weeks or months. Hematemesis (coffee grounds), melena (occult blood in stool).
Diagnosis: Med Hx & assessment, positive H. pylori, biopsy, positive stool occult blood test.
Plan: Correct underlying causes
Interventions: Smoking cessation, eradicate H. pylori, H2 antagonist, PPI, avoid aspirin and NSAIDS.
Evaluate: No pain or H. pylori
Diverticular disease
Etiology: Hollowed out pouch (haustra) within intestinal lumen; distal descending sigmoid colon. Most people remain asymptomatic.
CM: Abdominal pain in LLQ, N/V, fever, increased WBC
Diagnosis: Med Hx & assessment, radiography to confirm, colonoscopy
Plan: Screen for colorectal cancer
Interventions: Increased fiber and fluid, bowel retraining, antibiotics, bowel resection surgery
Evaluation: Daily bowel movements
Appendicitis
Etiology: Intraluminal obstruction, fecalith common in 20-30 age group.
CM: N/V, fever, initially vague abdominal pain, abrupt pain onset in epigastric/periumbilical region; appendix stretches during inflammation. Rebound abdominal tenderness in RLQ, fingertip size area.
Diagnosis: Med Hx & tenderness, rebound tenderness, radiography to confirm, increased WBC,
Plan: Prepare client for laparoscopic surgery
Interventions: Antibiotics (more common now) surgery (increased risk of bowel adhesions)
Evaluation: Pain free
Colorectal cancer
Etiology: Unknown. Most cases occur in 40 y/o adults; family Hx of cancer, CD, UC.
CM: Rectal bleeding is early sign, change in bowel habits, painful defecation is late sign
Diagnosis: Med Hx & assessment (digital fecal), fecal occult blood test, radiography (barium enema/CT), colonoscopy.
Plan: Screen starting at 50 y/o. Colonoscopy every 10 years with annual occult stool test.
Interventions: Aspirin and NSAIDS protect against colorectal cancer, surgical removal, adjuvant chemotherapy, palliative chemotherapy and radiation.
Evaluation: Cancer free and palliative care
What do UC and CD have in common? (4)
Both diseases produce inflammation of bowel
Lack of confirming evidence of a proven causative agent
Have patterns of familial occurrence
Accompanied by systemic manifestation
Crohn’s disease
Etiology: Unknown; affects esophagus to anus; transmural. Slow progressive, women being affected more often than men; genetic proponent.
CM: Remission & exacerbation. Fever, slightly bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, fecal urgency.
Diagnosis: Sigmoidoscopy. stool cultures, radiography (contrast studies show fistulas, CT shows inflammatory mass)
Plan: No cure, decrease inflammatory response
Interventions: Smoking cessation, pain control, avoid fatty diet, total parenteral nutrition
Evaluate: Weight gain
Ulcerative colitis
Etiology: Confined to colon and rectum, affects mucosa, begins in rectum and spreads; proximal affecting. Smoking decreases incidence of ulcerative colitis but increases risk for colon cancer.
CM: Fever, tachycardia, diarrhea w/ Frank blood, abdominal pain, hypovolemia, fecal incontinence
Diagnosis: Occult stool blood test, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, stool cultures for parasites, radiography.
Plan: Cancer screening (increased risk for colon cancer)
Interventions: Smoking is good (decreases incidence of UC), blood transfusion, surgery, avoid caffeine, dairy, and spicy foods. Increase fiber in diet.
Evaluation: Pain free