Small Bowel Dz Flashcards
Impaired breakdown of nutrients to absorbable split-products
Maldigestion
Defective mucosal uptake and transport of adequately digested nutrients including vitamins and trace elements.
Malabsorption
What do carbohydrates normally breakdown into?
Mono, Di or Oligosaccharides
What do amino acids break down into?
Oligopeptides
What do Fatty Acids break down into?
Monoglycerides
In this phase of absorption nutrients are hydrolyzed and solubilized. Digestion is accomplished by pancreatic enzymes such as amylase, lipase/colipase, trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase, etc. Also, bile salts are secreted to facilitate emulsification and absorption. Guess where else enzymes come from!? THE BRUSH BORDER WOOT WOOT WOOT.
This is the Luminal Phase. Lots happen here, and its a place where malabsorption can occur.
In this phase of absorption, further processing takes place at the brush border with transfer into the cell and across the membrane.
Mucosal Phase
In this phase of absorption, nutrients are moved from the epithelium to the portal venous or lymphatic circulation.
Transport Phase
The three phases of absorption are the sites where malabsorptive issues can occur.
If you don’t know, now you know.
What are 4 basic mechanisms for maldigestion to occur?
- Gastric Motility
- Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency
- Bile Salt Deficiency
- Mucosal Dz
What are three causes of Gastric Motility Related Maldigestion?
- Subtotal Gastrectomy (Biliroth I and II)
- Vagotomy
- Dumping Syndrome
This is the partial removal of the stomach including the antrum. Can cause gastric dysmotility and maldigestion
Subtotal Gastrectomy
This is a condition that causes gastric motility related maldigestion where food may enter the small intestine too rapidly for proper mixing with digestive enzymes to occur. This can also cause iron deficiency anemia and osteomalacia.
Vagotomy
Why does Vagotomy cause Iron deficiency Anemia and Osteomalacia?
- Iron Deficiency Anemia – gastric acid is required for iron absorption, with it moving too fast you aren’t absorbing adequately.
- Osteomalacia – decreased calcium absorption due to the speed of movement.
This is a condition that causes gastric motility related maldigestion where rapid gastric emptying of hypertonic fluids into the small bowel occur.
Dumping Syndrome
What are some systemic effects of Dumping Syndrome?
- Decreased blood volume as fluids are pulled through the bowel
- Osmotic diarrhea within an hour
- Large carbohydrate meal can cause an excessive insulin surge and hypoglycemia.
This can cause maldigestion if 90+% acinus dysfunction or ductal obstruction occurs.
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency
What would you see in labs for a patient with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency?
- Decreased lipase causing steatorrhea and decreased ADEK absorption.
- Decreased amylase causing increased starch fermentation in the gut
- Decreased protease causing azotorrhea
What the treatment for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency?
Enzyme replacement
This cause of maldigestion has to do with the gall bladder (vague, I know I’m sorry, will you ever forgive me?)
Bile Salt Deficiency
When you have a Bile Salt Deficiency, what could be happening?
- Decreased production via Chronic liver dz
- Decreased delivery due to biliary obstruction
- Drugs that bind bile salts like cholestyramine
- Impaired reabsorption int he terminal ileum
- Altered bile salt structure (SIBO) can cause deconjugation leading to free bile acids which are less effective and less soluble
** Remember that bile salts are normally found in micelles for lipid absorption.
This cause of maldigestion occurs via the loss of terminal stages of digestion such as the loss of the enterocyte brush border enzymes (maltase, lactase, sucrase)
Mucosal Disease
What can mucosal dz (enterocyte damage) cause?
- Decreased CCK –> Decreased Gall Bladder Contraction –> Decreased Pancreatic Secretions
- Decreased Enteropeptidase secretion into the lumen –> pancreatic zymogens don’t get activated (trypsinogen)
What are five main causes of malabsorption?
- Decreased intestinal surface area (most common)
- Decreased circulation and lymphatic drainage
- Mucosal infiltration with abnormal cells
- Transport protein mutations
- Impaired motility
Where is the majority of absorption occurring in the body?
Duodenum/Proximal Jejunum
Where is iron and calcium absorbed proximally?
Duodenum/Proximal Jejunum
Where are Vitamin B12 and Bile Salts Absorbed?
Terminal Ileum