Overview GI Dz

Question 1

Primary GI Clinical SIgns

Answer 1

vomiting/regurgitation
diarrhea
melena
hematochezia

Question 2

Secondary GI Clinical SIgns

Answer 2

Anorexia
Weight Loss
Icterus

Question 3

What questions should you ask about vomiting?

Answer 3

How often
How much at a time
Color
Associated with before, after, or during meals
Associated with an empty stomach

Question 4

What questions should you ask about diarrhea?

Answer 4

Urgency
Tenesmus (straining)
Color
Odor
Consistency

Question 5

Dietary questions to ask

Answer 5

What is normal diet
Does pet get any people food
Did pet eat anything unusual
any changes in diet, if so, how fast

Question 6

Other questions to ask when getting a Hx for GI Dz

Answer 6

any toys missing
any out of state travel
any camping

Question 7

List the changes that are present during a PE that may occur as a result of GI Dz.

Answer 7

Dehydration (P can’t drink enough to make up for fluid loses in V/D)
Pale MM = circulatory shock or anemia
Dark melenic feces –> hemorrhage in stomach or SI
Red blood in feces –> hemorrhage in LI

Question 8

Define inflammation

Answer 8

key part of innate immunity; a localized protective response elicited by injury or destruction of tissues which serves to destroy, dilute, or wall off both the injurious agent and the injured tissue

Question 9

Define Infection

Answer 9

invasion and multiplication of microorganisms in body tissues

Question 10

Inflammation vs infection

Answer 10

agents that cause infection may elicit an inflammatory response, but inflammation can happen because of trauma, chemical injury, heat injury, other injury, etc.; infection is an invasion; inflammation is a protective response

Question 11

5 Cardinal Signs of Acute Inflammation

Answer 11

heat
pain
redness
swelling
loss of function

Question 12

What leads to heat and redness?

Answer 12

after tissue is damaged, vasoactive factors stimulate the blood vessels to dilate. Vasodilated vessels means that blood flow to the damaged area is increased

Question 13

What are examples of vasoactive factors?

Answer 13

PGs
Histamine
Bradykinin

Question 14

What leads to swelling?

Answer 14

vasoactive factors increase the permeability of blood vessels, allowing fluid components of blood (the plasma) to leak into the surrounding area causing edema (swelling)

Question 15

How does the body respond to systemic inflammation on bloodwork?

Answer 15

Neutrophilia (sudden increase in neutrophil count)

• neutrophils leave marginating pool and become part of circulating pool
• bone marrow might start making more neutrophils so you see immature neutrophils in circulation

Neutropenia
-neutrophils attracted to a site faster than they can be produced, decreasing the circulating neutrophil population in the blood

Question 16

How does the body’s response to systemic inflammation sometimes result in pyrexia?

Answer 16

• Macrophages release cytokines that act throughout the body
• Several cytokines act on the thermoregulatory center of the brain to raise thermostatic set point of body
• body thins this temp needs to be maintained, so it causes blood vessels to vasoconstrict in peripheral tissue to conserve heat