Liver and friends Flashcards
What is the aetiology of biliary colic?
Gall stones obstruct the cystic duct
What is the clinical presentation of biliary colic?
Right upper gastric pain ± jaundice
How is biliary colic diagnosed?
Abdominal USS to diagnose gall stone disease
How is biliary colic managed?
- analgesia
- rehydrate
- remove gallbladder
What is the aetiology of acute cholecystitis?
Stone/ sludge impaction in the neck of the gallbladder
What is the pathophysiology of acute cholecystitis?
Fixed obstruction or passage of gallstones into the gallbladder neck or cystic duct causes acute inflammation of the gallbladder wall, causing irritation
What are the risk factors of acute cholecystitis?
- gallstones
- physical inactivity
- low fibre intakes
- severe illness
- diabetes
What is the clinical presentation of acute cholecystitis?
- continuous epigastric/ RUQ pain referred to right shoulder
- vomiting
- fever
What are the differential diagnoses of acute cholecystitis?
- basal pneumonia
- peptic ulcer disease
- acute pancreatitis
- intrahepatic abscess
How is acute cholecystitis diagnosed?
- FBC (increased WCC and CRP)
- raised bilirubin and alk phos
- abdo USS (thick-walled, shrunken gallbladder, stones, pericholecystic fluid)
- examination (RUQ tenderness and Murphy’s sign - pain of taking a deep breath when 2 fingers are placed on RUQ)
How is acute cholecystitis managed?
- IV antibiotic infusion (e.g. cefuroxime)
- remove gallbladder
- open surgery if gallbladder is perforated
- pure or near-pure cholesterol stones can be solubilised with oral ursodeoxycholic acid → stone dissolution
- shock wave lithotripsy: shock wave directed at gallbladder stone to turn them into fragments to pass easily
What is the aetiology of chronic cholecystitis?
Chronic inflammation ± colic
What are the risk factors of chronic cholecystitis?
- increasing age
- female
- FHx of gallstones
- Hispanic and native-american ethnicity
What is the clinical presentation of chronic cholecystitis?
- vague abdominal discomfort
- flatulence
- fat intolerance
What are the differential diagnoses of chronic cholecystitis?
- peptic ulcer disease
- gallbladder cancer
- gallbladder polyps
How is chronic cholecystitis diagnosed?
- FBC
- serum LFT
- serum lipase and amylase
- abdominal USS
How is chronic cholecystitis managed?
- no treatment if asymptomatic
- remove gallbladder
What is the aetiology of ascending cholangitis?
- gallstones
- bile duct infection
What is the pathophysiology of ascending cholangitis?
Bile duct obstruction leads to bacterial seeding of the biliary tree and bacterial contamination
What are the risk factors of ascending cholangitis?
- age >50y
- benign stricture
- malignant stricture
What is the clinical presentation of ascending cholangitis?
- RUQ pain
- biliary colic
- jaundice → dark urine, pale stools, itchy skin
- rigors
What are the differential diagnoses of ascending cholangitis?
- acute cholecystitis
- peptic ulcer disease
- acute pancreatitis
- hepatic abscess
How is ascending cholangitis diagnosed?
- trans abdominal USS
- magnetic resonance cholangiography
- CT to exclude cancer
- raised neutrophil, ESR, CRP, serum bilirubin, serum alk phos and aminotransferase
- blood culture
How is ascending cholangitis managed?
- antibiotics e.g. cefuroxime and metroniazole
- urgent biliary drainage (removal of stones using basket or balloon, crushing of stones, stent placement)
- surgery for large stones
What is the aetiology of acute pancreatitis?
- gallstones
- ethanol
- trauma
- steroids
- mumps
- autoimmune
- hyperlipidaemia, calcaemia and hypothermia
- drugs