Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

GI > Malabsorption > Flashcards

Malabsorption Flashcards

1
Q

what is malabsorption?

A

= defective mucosal absorption which is caused by;

(i) defective luminal digestion
(ii) mucosal disease
(iii) structural disorders

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what are some common and uncommon causes of malabsorption?

A

Common

  • coeliac disease
  • Crohn’s disease
  • post infection
  • biliary obstruction
  • cirrhosis

Uncommon

  • pancreatic cancer
  • parasittes
  • bacterial overgrowth
  • drugs
  • short bowel
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what are 4 states of malabsorption?

A
  • protein
  • fat
  • carbohydrates
  • vitamins & minerals
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what are the digestive and absorptive causes of protein malabsorption?

A

Digestive

  • gastrectomy (poor mixing)
  • exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
  • trypsinogen deficiency
  • congenital intestinal enterokizase deficiency

Absorptive;

  • coeliac disease & tropical sprue
  • short bowel syndrome
  • jejunoileal bypass
  • methionine malabsorption syndrome & blue diaper syndrome
  • defects in neutral AA transporters
  • cystinuria I-III
  • oculocerebral syndrome of Lowe
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what are the digestive, absorptive and post absorptive causes of fat malabsorption?

A

Digestive;

  • less time to mix gastric resection, autonomic neuropathy, amyloidosis
  • dec micelle formation, decreased bile acid synthesis/secretion, cirrhosis, biliary obstruction, CCK deficiency, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
  • decreased lipolysis, chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis,, pancreatic/ampullary tumours, low luminal pH, excessive calcium ingestion, lipase/co-lipase defieicny

Absorptive
- decreased chylomicron formation & mucosal absorption, coeliac disease, abettalipoproteinemia, hypobetalipoproteinemia, chylomicron pretension disease

Post-Absorptive
- defective lymphatic transport, primary intestinal lymphangectasis, lymphoma, Whipple disease, trauma, retro-peritoneal fibrosis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what are the digestive and absorptive causes of carbohydrate malabsorption?

A

Digestive;
- severe pancreatic insufficiency (alpha amylase def)

Absorptive
= primary or acquired lactase deficiency 
- post infectious lactase deficiency 
- coeliac disease
- crohn's disease
- sucrase isomaltase deficiency 
- trehalase deficiency
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

describe the things that lead to vitamin B12, folic acid and fat soluble vitamins malabsorption? (vitamins)

A

Vitt B12 (cobalamin)

  • atrophic gastritis
  • deficiency of gastric intrinsic factors
  • pancreatic insufficiency/Z-E syndrome
  • helminth infections/SI BO
  • leal crohn’s disease/resection

Folic acid;

  • diseases affecting Proxima small bowel
  • coeliac disease/whipple/tropical sprue
  • alcoholism

Gat soluble vitamins (ADEK)
- anteing disrupting fat absorption will result in one or more deficiency

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what causes calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper malabosption? (minerals)

A

Calcium;

  • renal disease/hypoparathyroidism
  • inborn defect in Vit D receptor or 1alpha,25-dihydroxy vitamin D formation
  • diseases that reduce intestinal surface area and/or cause formation of insoluble calcium soaps with long chain fatty acids (coeliac disease/bile acid deficiency)

Magnesium;
- caused by loss of mucosal surface area and/or luminal binding my malabsorbed fatty acids

Iron;
- caused by reduced mucosal surface area, but most often caused by GI bleeding

Zinc;
- acrodermatitis enteropathica

Copper;
- menkes disease, caused by inherited disorder of cellular copper transport

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what are 5 specific disease states?

A

1) coeliac disease
2) whipple’s disease
3) crohn’s disease
4) parasitic infections
5) small bowel bacterial overgrowth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what is coeliac disease?

A

= exposure to wheat, barley, rye inducing a characteristic mucosal lesion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what causes coeliac disease?

A
  • intestinal antigen presenting cells in people expressing HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 bind with dietary gluten peptides in their antigen binding grooves activating specific mucosal T lymphocytes cytokines mucosal damage
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what are symptoms if coeliac disease?

A
  • spectrum asymptomatic to nutritional deficiencies
  • weight loss
  • diarrhoea
  • excess flatus
  • abdominal discomfort
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

how would you diagnose and treat coeliac disease?

A

Diagnosis

  • IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase test (tTGA)
  • biopsy confirmative

Treatment;
- gluten free diet

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what causes lactose malabsorption?

A

= deficiency of lactase

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what are the symptoms of lactose malabsorption?

A
  • diarrhoea
  • abdominal discomfort
  • flatulence
    = following ingestion of dairy productions
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

how would you diagnose and manage lactose malabsorption?

A

Diagnosis

  • confirmed by lactose breath hydrogen test
  • oral lactose intolerance test

Management;
- lactose free diet

17
Q

what is tropical sprue?

A

disease of small intestine causing malabsorption of food

18
Q

what causes tropical sprue?

A
  • colonisation of intestine by an infectious agent or alterations in intestinal bacterial flora induced by exposure to another environmental agent
19
Q

what are the symptoms of tropical sprue?

A 
= diarrhoea
= steatorrhea
= weight loss
= nausea
= anorexia
= anaemia
20
Q

how would you diagnose and treat tropical sprue?

A

Diagnose
= biopsy

treat
= tetracycline
+ folic acid

21
Q

what is Whipple’s disease?

A

rare bacterial infection affecting joints and digestive system

22
Q

what causes whipple’s disease?

A

= tropheryma whipplei
(multi system involvement)
+ increase iii frequency of HLA-B27

23
Q

what are the symptoms of whipples disease and how would you diagnose and treat it?

A

Symptoms

  • weight loss
  • diarrhoea
  • steatorrhea
  • abdominal distension
  • arthritis
  • fever
  • nutritional def symptoms

Diagnosis
- demonstration of T. whipplei in involved tissue by microscopy

Treatment
= anti-microbial

24
Q

what is Crohn’s disease?

A

a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, especially the colon and ileum, associated with ulcers and fistulae

25
Q

when do people with Crohn’s disease develop malabsorption?

A 
In patients with; 
- extensive ileal involvement 
- extensive intestinal resections
- enterocoelic fistulas
- strictures 
= leading to small intestinal bacterial overgrowth causing malabsorption
26
Q

what are symptoms of Crohn’s disease?

A
  • abdominal pain
  • diarrhoea
  • fever
  • weight loss
  • abdominal tenderness (most classically right lower quadrant = RLQ)
27
Q

how would you diagnose and treat Crohn’s disease?

A

Diagnosis;

  • endoscopy
  • barium imaging of small bowel mucosal disease incising strictures, ulcerations and fistulae
  • CT
  • MRI
  • colonoscopy = punched out lesions

Treatment;

  • steroids
  • immuno-suppressants
  • azatiopkinne 6-MP
  • biological therapy (anti-TNF)
28
Q

give an example of a parasitic infection that could arise? and other examples of parasites.

A

= giardia lamblia

  • coccidial
  • strongyloides
29
Q

what are the risk factors for developing giardia lamblia ?

A
  • travelling to areas where water supply may be contaminated

- swimming in ponds

30
Q

what are the symptoms of giardia lamblia?

A
  • diarrhoea
  • flatulence
  • abdominal cramps
  • epigastric pain
  • nausea
    + malabsorption
    + steatorrhea
    + weight loss
31
Q

how would you determine if you have a giardia lamblia infection?

A

= stool examination for ova and parasites, 3 separate stool samples increases the yield of positive examinations

32
Q

how would you teat giardia lamblia ?

A

= metronidazole - 1 week

33
Q

what causes small bowel bacterial overgrowth?

A
  • diarrhoea
  • steatorrhea
  • macrocytic anaemia (B12)
  • E. coli and bacteroids
  • diverticula
  • fistulas
  • strictures related to crohn’s disease
  • bypass surgery functional stasis
34
Q

how would you diagnose small bowel bacterial overgrowth in a lab?

A
  • low cobalamin and high folate levels
    = aerobic and/or anaerobic colonic-type bacteria in jejunal aspirate obtained by intubation.
    = bacterial overgrowth is best established by a schilling test
35
Q

how would you treat small bowel bacterial overgrowth ?

A

= surgical correction of an anatomical blind loop

- tetracyclines 2-3weeks

36
Q

what 6 things should you focus on in diarrhoea?

A
  • duration
  • malabsorbtive stool
  • fat globules
  • floating
  • hard to flush away
  • offensive
37
Q

describe the 2 important skin conditions you can acquire as a result of malabsorption?

A

= acrodermatitis enteropathica

  • autosomal recessive
  • impaired zinc uptake
  • rash, perineal, aural, alopecia
  • life long zinc supplement

= dermatitis herpetiformis

  • may indicate coeliac disease
  • itchy bilsters
  • extensor surfaces
  • sub-epithelial IgA deposition
38
Q

what are 6 baseline investigations that would be done in malabsorption?

A
  • FBC
  • coagulation
  • LFTs
  • albumin
  • calcium/magnesium
  • stool culture
39
Q

what are anatomical investigations that can be done?

A
  • endoscopy

- imaging

GI (43 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions