Path 1 - Intestinal obstruction, Ischemic bowel disease, diarrhea, infectious enterocolitis Flashcards
What are four mechanial causes of obstruction?
- Intussusception
- Volvulus
- Hernia
- Adhesions
What are some ssx of GI obstruction?
- Crampy abdominal pain that comes and goes.
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
- Diarrhea.
- Constipation.
- Inability to have a bowel movement or pass gas.
- Swelling of the abdomen (distention
What are four clinical criteria that may be used as a sign of strangulation?
- Fever
- Tachycardia
- Local Tenderness
- Leukocytosis
Identify!
- Upper left: Herniation
- Upper right: Adhesions
- Lower Left: Volvulus
- Lower Right: Intussusception
What does this radiograph show, and what does it indicate?
Upright abdominal X-Ray with multiple air fluid levels in intestines that indicate obstruction
What are the most common populations this occurs in?
Intussusception
- Most common cause of intestinal obstruction in children younger than two years of age (typically between 5-9 months)
- Twice as frequent in males than females
Of intussusception cases, 90% are idiopathic. 10% involve a discrete lead point. The telescoping can produce obstruction, ischemia, and eventual strangulation of the bowel. What are 5 common lead points where this happens?
- Meckel’s Diverticulum
- Intestinal Polyps
- Appendicitis
- Neoplastic lesions
- Foreign bodies
What are three associations to be aware of related to intussusception?
- Viral illness - specifically Adenovirus
- Rotavirus Vaccine (apparently only with the old version per michael)
- Peyer patch lymphoid hyperplasia
What do you see in this x-ray? What is is classic for?
“coffee bean” sign
Classic image finding for Volvulus
Volvulus is most common in adults occuring with equal frequency in small intestine (around a twisted mesentery) and colon (in either sigmoid or cecum.
Where does it typically occur in very young children?
Nearly always in the small intestine
What is this?
- Volvulus
An external inguinal hernia is a protrusion of a serosa-lined pouch of peritoneum called a hernia sac. Where do these typically occur?
Anteriorly, via inguinal and femoral canals, also the umbilicus and surgical scar sites.
Obstruction often occurs d/t external inguinal hernias because of visceral protrusion into the hernia sac. What structures are commonly involved?
With prolonged incarceration what are some dangers?
Small bowel loops are typically involved, leads to:
- ischemia
- obstruction
- danger of perforation
What is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in the US?
What are three examples?
Adhesions
- •Postoperative adhesions
- •Inflammation
- •Endometriosis
What is this and how did it happen?
Internal hernia
Fibrous bridges create closed loops through which other loops can slide through and become entrapped…
“Lower GI bleeding” refers to a bleed where?
Distal to ligament of Treitz
Which is more commonly the cause of lower GI bleeds, Colorectum or small intestine?
Colorectal
Lower GI bleeds are most common in the 7th decade, and may not be visible to the patient if chronic/low grade. What is a big tip off that would point to a chronic GI bleed?
Iron deficiency anemia - hypochromic microcytic anemia
What are two common causes of lower GI bleeding we discussed in this lecture?
Diverticulosis
Angiodysplasia
Besides diverticulitis and angiodysplasia, what are some other important causes of lower GI bleeding?
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Anal fissure
•Ischemia (watershed zones) > 70 yo
- Infectious enteritis
- Intestinal polyps
- Cancer
- Hemorrhoids
Angiodysplasia is a common cause of lower GI bleeding in elderly patients (acquired lesions associated with aging), with an unknown pathogenesis. This accounts for 20% of significant lower GI bleeding. What happens in this condition?
Proliferation of tortuously dilated and malformed submucosal and mucosal blood vessels.
What is seen in the images here taken from a 77 y/o female with fatigue, pallor and digital clubbing?
Angiodysplasia
Note the dilated small vessels of the lamina propria in the image on the right
What is mesenteric angina?
•acute mesenteric ischemia, commonly present with abdominal pain and hematochezia.
Paradoxically, elderly patients (who are the most prone to ischemia from arterial insufficiency) often experience little or no pain until the disease is far advanced. What areas are most prone to ischemic bowel disease?
Watershed areas: Tissue at terminal segments of arterial circulation
- Splenic flexure
- Recto-sigmoid junction
The vast majority of lower GI ischemia is d/t arterial insufficiency (85-95%). Of this cause, sources can be either occlusive ischemia (~70%) or nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia, in essence inadequate arterial blood flow (~25%).
What are four causes of nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia?
- Systemic hypotension
- Shock
- Hypoxemia
- Dehydration
What are five examples of causes of occlusive lower GI ischemia?
- Atheromatous emboli (50%)
- Thrombus (10%)
- Atherosclerosis
- Arteritis
- Dissecting aneurysm
Venous insufficiency is responsible for a mere 10% of lower GI ischemia, and typically occurs in younger patients with an initial presentation of abdominal pain.
What are three causes of this?
- External venous compression
- Mesenteric venous thrombosis
- Hypercoagulable states (genetic and acquired)
The small intestine and colon can tolerate slowly progressive loss of blood supply, but acute compromise of any major vessel can lead to infarction of several meters of intestine. What are the two types of infarcts seen in ischemic bowel disease?
Superficial mucosal infarction
Transmural infarction
Describe a superficial mucosal infarction.
Extends no deeper than the muscularis mucosa. (Starts at the mucosa)
Describe a transmural infarction.
Involves all three wall layers, Mucosa, muscularis mucosae, submucosa, muscularis propria, and extends to the serosa.
Describe the two damage phases of intestinal ischemia. Which is worse?
- The initial hypoxic injury occurs at the onset of vascular compromise.
- The second phase, reperfusion injury, is initiated by restoration of the blood supply and it is at this time that the greatest damage occurs.
What are the mechanisms of reperfusion injury in the intestine?
–leakage of gut lumen bacterial products- lipopolysaccharide into the systemic circulation
–free radical production and neutrophil infiltration
What is shown in each of these photos?
Left/top: normal unfixed small intestine
Bottom/right: Early ischemic enteritis involving the tips of the villi. (Hyperemic)
Which is quantitatively greater as far as absorption and secretion in the GI system?
Absorption
What happens if you have either a decrease in absorption or an increase in secretion?
Diarrhea
What are the classes of diarrhea? 6
- Watery
- Fatty
- Inflammatory
- Secretory
- Osmotic
- Exudative
Watery diarrhea impies either?
Secretory or osmotic
Fatty diarrhea implies?
defective absorption of fat and perhaps other nutrients in the small intestine.
Inflammatory diarrhea implies the presence of one of a limited number of inflammatory or neoplastic diseases involving the GI tract, and will present with?
Purulent or bloody stools
What impact does fasting have on secretory diarrhea?
What is the usual etiology?
- persists during fasting
- usually infectious; viral or enterotoxin