In everyday clinical practice constipation can be defined as less than two bowel actions per week, usually passing hard stool, and associated with straining. However, when applying this definition it must be kept in mind...
Esophageal (“transport”) dysphagia is failure to transport the bolus through the esophagus to the stomach, often combined with retching, regurgitation, and aspiration...
IBS is a long-term, recurring digestive condition marked by stomach pain or discomfort, usually along with changes in bowel movements...
In patients presenting with diarrhea it is important to distinguish “true diarrhea” from “false diarrhea"...
Work-up for abdominal pain begins with resuscitation and exclusion of critical diagnoses. Then, through a detailed history and physical, consider all the causes of abdominal pain...
Peptic ulcer disease most commonly occurs in the duodenum, followed by the stomach, esophagus, and jejunum in Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, or after a gastroenterostomy, or in a Meckel's diverticulum with ectopic gastric mucosa.
The causes of pancreatitis can be recalled from the mnemonic GET SMASH'D: gallstones, ethanol, trauma, steroids, mumps, autoimmune diseases, scorpion stings, hypertriglyceridemia, and drugs (e.g., azathioprine or diuretics).
In patients with typical symptoms and diagnostic laboratory tests, CT or MR imaging is not required to confirm the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. CT or MR imaging are primarily used to detect complications of acute pancreatitis...
Chronic pancreatitis occurs when there is irreversible and progressive destruction of the pancreas. While the etiology of the pain in chronic pancreatitis is not well understood, it is most likely due to: chronic inflammation, altered nociception and tissue ischemia
The pathophysiology of acalculous cholecystitis is thought to start with an acute or acute-on-chronic condition that leads to endothelial injury and gallbladder ischemia.