ICR-Final Flashcards
Greatest challenge swallowing with liquid, coughing immediately after swallowing, often associated with neurological disease (stroke, MS)
Oropharyngeal dysphagia
Treating oropharyngeal dysphagia
Refer to speech pathology for modified barium swallow
Food gets stuck with solids and liquids several seconds after swallowing
Esophageal dysphagia.
Differential for esophageal dysphagia with solids only? With liquids and solids?
Solids only: rings, webs, EoE, peptic stricture, esophageal cancer. Both: diffuse esophageal spasm, scleroderma, achalasia
Where is food typically getting stuck when patients point to the region they think it is getting stuck?
There or lower
Red flags for patients with dysphagia
Food impaction, weight loss, history of heavy tobacco/alcohol use, dysphagia itself is a red flag with heartburn
Patient sitting in waiting room spitting into a cup because they can’t swallow
Food impaction
2 main assessments of esophagus in patients with dysphagia
Barium esophagram (diagnostic only, less invasive) or upper endoscopy (diagnostic & therapeutic = 1st choice)
What pushes you towards doing a barium esophagram over upper endoscopy?
Endoscopy is not available. Patient has too many comorbidities.
When would you consider doing esophageal manometry?
Anatomic evaluation checks out normal and you suspect a motility disorder.
How do you treat this?
Schatzki rings occur near the GE junction and respond well to esophageal dilation.
How do you confirm this diagnosis?
This is eosinophilic esophagitis, note the eosinophilic microabscesses on the esophageal wall and concentric rings. This is diagnosed by biopsy w/15-20 Eos per high power field.
How do patients with EoE typically present first and how do you first manage them?
1st: intermittent dysphagia. Treat w/PPI, then if that doesn’t work you treat with topical steroids.
How do you diagnose and treat this patient?
This patient has an esophageal web, which responds extremely well to esophageal dilation.
What type of dysphagia will this patient present with?
Progressive solid food dysphagia. This is a peptic stricture from long standing GERD that has damaged the mucosal lining of the esophagus.
Which of these is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and which is esophageal adenocarcinoma? What are associations with each? Where do they typically arise?
Top: SSC, associated w/African American and tobacco/alcohol use. Typically occurs mid esophagus. Bottom: Adenocarcinoma, associated with Barrett esophagus, GERD, older white men. Typically occurs distal esophagus.
What would you expect to see on esophageal manometry in a patient with diffuse esophageal spasm? What about on barium swallow?
Peristalsis and contraction all at the same time. Barium swallow = corkscrew esophagus.
What would you expect to see on esophageal manometry in a patient with achalasia?
No peristalsis and no LES relaxation. ON imaging you would see the bird beak.
List 5 causes of odynophagia
Secondary to mucosal break/ulcer, infection (HSV, CMV, Candida = white plaques), pills (kissing ulcers), caustic agent (diffuse, circumferential injury), radiation
How do ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease differ in symptoms, colon involvement, small bowel involvement and perforating/stricture disease?
*
How do you evaluate a patent with IBD?
Labs may show anemia and elevated inflammatory markers. Endoscopy is essential for diagnosis and imaging can help.
Endoscopy findings in ulcerative colitis?
Granular, erythematous and bleeds w/mild trauma
Endoscopy findings in Crohn’s disease?
Edematous mucosa w/linear ulcerations
A patient presents with a burning/gnawing epigastric pain. Physical exam reveals epigastric tenderness. He has a long history of NSAID use for arthritis. How do you evaluate and treat this patient?
He is at risk for peptic ulcer disease. You can “test and treat” by stopping NSAIDs and checking H. pylori status. You could do upper endoscopy or upper GI series. Check CBC to see if BUN is elevated to assess for bleeding. Check AAS (acute abdominal series) if concerned for bleeding.
Patient presents with constant, unrelenting epigastric pain radiating to the back w/nausea and vomiting. Physical exam shows fever, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, tachypnea, hypoactive bowel sounds and marked abdominal tenderness. How do you evaluate this patient?
Acute pancreatitis. Labs: serum amylase and lipase (more specific). RUQ ultrasound if there is gallstone etiology (ALT >3x upper limit) and CT scan to confirm.
Grey-Turner’s and Cullen’s signs
Seen in acute necrotizing pancreatitis.
Most common causes of acute pancreatitis in the US
Gallstones and alcohol
A patient presents with RUQ and epigastric pain that is sudden onset and severe. The pain radiates to the right shoulder/scapula. There is also nausea, vomiting and fever. Physical exam reveals guarding and Murphey’s sign. How do you evaluate this patient?
Acute cholecystitis. CBC shows leukocytosis. Hepatic panel shows AST/ALT elevation and elevated bilirubin. RUQ ultrasound is test of choice.
Thick gallbladder wall and pericholic fluid
Cholecystitis
Where to palpate for acute appendicitis
McBurney’s point or right-sided rectal palpation
Special tests for acute appendicitis
Psoas sign and obturator sign
Appendicitis test of choice
CT in adults, ultrasound in children
A patient presents with abdominal pain, vomiting, obstipation. Physical exam reveals a distended abdomen with diffuse tenderness and rigidity. KUB is shown below. How do you evaluate this patient?
This patient has abdominal obstruction, note the fluid-air levels on the KUB. Further evaluation is done by imaging.
A patient presents with nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhea and severe abdominal pain out of proportion to the physical exam. How do you evaluate this patient?
Mesenteric ischemia. Lactate levels indicate areas of underperfusion. CT confirms diagnosis with air in bowel or occlusion.
Dull or midline abdominal pain with vaginal bleeding
Endometritis
Lower abdominal pain with nausea, vomiting and peritonitis
Salpingitis (fallopian tube infection)
Lower abdominal pain with nausea, vomiting and peritonitis. Also w/RUQ tenderness.
Fitz-Hugh Curtis Syndrome.
Physical exam for PID
Cervical motion tenderness, discharge and palpable adnexal mass with tubo-ovarian abscess
Evaluation of PID
Pregnancy test, CBC and test for gonorrhea or chlamydia
A patient has variable abdominal symptoms that get worse with stress. Nocturnal symptoms are absent. How do you diagnose this condition?
IBS. Rome III criteria: recurren pain > 3x/month in last 3 months w/2 of following: improvement with defecation, onset w/change in stool frequency, onset w/change in stool form. Symptom onset > 6 months ago.
Acute vs. chronic diarrhea
Acute < 4 weeks, chronic > 4 weeks
Etiologies of acute diarrhea
Infectious or initial presentation of more severe disorder
When does someone need to be seen for acute diarrhea?
Severe abdominal pain, temp > 101.3, blood, 6+ stools/day, immunocompromised, antibiotics in past 3 months
3 categories of chronic diarrhea. How do you evaluate each?
Watery (history, labs, stool studies and endoscopy), inflammatory (go to endoscopy) or fatty (see if it’s small bowel or pancreas by imaging or endoscopy)
Diarrhea red flags
Blood, anemia, waking at night to go, weight loss, immunocompromised
2 types of watery diarrhea. How do you differentiate between the two?
Osmotic (poorly absorbed ion or sugar) or secretory (infection, endocrine, tumors). Differentiate by calculating stool osmotic gap = 290 - 2(Na + K). Secretory if < 50. Osmotic if > 125.
What type of watery diarrhea goes away when the patient does not eat?
Osmotic