Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0017160 (gastroenteritis)
 11,398 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A variety of drugs and toxins can produce severe abdominal pain and, in some cases, a surgical abdomen. Toxins can be classified according to mechanisms of injury: 1. Corrosives often produce severe gastroenteritis and may result in gastric or esophageal perforations. Examples of corrosive substances include aspirin, iron, mercury, acids and alkali. 2. Drugs may cause intestinal ileus or obstruction by pharmacologic actions (i.e., anticholinergic drugs and narcotics) or by mechanical obstruction (charcoal and drug bezoars). 3. Abdominal pain simulating an acute abdomen may result from systemic effects of black widow spider envenomation or intoxication with heavy metals such as lead and arsenic. 4. Ischemic bowel disease may occur from use of vasoconstrictor drugs, such as ergotamines, amphetamines and cocaine, or may follow treatment with catecholamines or digitalis in critically ill patients. Small bowel ischemia is life-threatening and may require bowel resection. 5. Many drugs cause abdominal pain by directly injuring abdominal organs, such as the liver and pancreas. Antibiotic-associated colitis may present with abdominal pain and inflammatory diarrhea. Consideration of drugs and toxins plays an important role in the differential diagnosis of the acute abdomen.
 ...
PMID:Toxicologic causes of acute abdominal disorders. 266 62

The opinions of 142 doctors on the relevance of anatomy to the diagnosis and management of common clinical problems in their current medical and dental practice were analysed. This was in a bid to determine the relevant anatomy course content for the new primary health care oriented medical and dental curriculum of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. The respondents gave high scores to the relevance of anatomy knowledge to the management of acute abdomen (mean = 3.5), dislocated shoulder (3.3), Colles' fracture (3.2), palmar space abscess (3.2), obstructed labour (3.2), carcinoma of the breast (3.2), ectopic pregnancy (3.1), flail chest (3.1) and upper respiratory obstruction (3.0). They gave minimal scores to helminthiasis (mean = 1.5) common cold and anaemia (1.6), sickle cell disease (1.7), gastroenteritis (1.8), dental abscess (2.0), hypertension (2.2) and asthma (2.2). A basis for selecting relevant anatomy course content is deduced for an undergraduate curriculum in which the responsibilities and competence of the graduates is known. A nationwide extension of the study, especially amongst general practitioners and first-line doctors in rural areas, would be useful for identification of health problems that require little or no knowledge of anatomy and which can be safely managed by lower cadres of health personnel, traditional practitioners and members of the lay community.
 ...
PMID:What anatomy shall we teach medical and dental students in a primary health care curriculum? 320 92

Rotational gut abnormalities are generally considered a disease process of the neonatal and pediatric populations. However, they may first become manifest in teenagers and adults, often with disastrous outcomes. A case of a 15-year-old boy who presented in shock with an acute abdomen is presented. His symptoms had been mistaken for 1 week as gastroenteritis. At surgery, he was found to have a midgut volvulus. A differential diagnosis is discussed, as well as an anatomical review and typical symptomatology associated with midgut abnormalities.
 ...
PMID:Midgut volvulus: an unusual case of adolescent abdominal pain. 816 89

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of 'fast-tracking' in an academic emergency department (ED) during a period of limited resources and space constraints. This was a prospective, double-blind, comparative clinical trial. Fast-tracking was applied every other day between 08.00 and 17.30 hours. Patients meeting fast-tracking criteria, which were determined as allergy, dyspepsia, hypertension, urinary tract infection, urolithiasis, gastroenteritis, upper airway infection, minor lacerations, and soft tissue injuries with no sign or symptom of life-threatening illness or acute abdomen, were treated by a designated fast-tracking team. In the alternate days fast-tracking was not done, and the patients having the same criteria were recorded and followed as the control group. ED length of stays were determined for each patient, and at time of discharge a questionnaire was applied to determine patient satisfaction. Follow-up was performed by telephone survey at the 5th day of discharge. The median length of stay was 36 minutes for the fast-tracked group compared with 63 minutes for the control group. The application of fast-tracking decreased ED length of stay and improved patient satisfaction in patients presenting with allergy, dyspepsia, upper airway infection, minor laceration, and soft tissue injury, but not in patients with gastroenteritis, urinary tract infection, hypertension, and urolithiasis. The rate of follow-up was 81% (n = 217), and there were no complications or hospitalizations to another hospital. It is concluded that fast-tracking is an applicable and useful system in an academic ED with limited resources, and decreases ED length of stay and improves patient satisfaction in a selected group of patients. Determination of fast tracking criteria must be individualized for each hospital according to resources. Additionally, fast-tracking seems to be safe when performed under strict criteria for patient selection.
 ...
PMID:Prospective, double-blind, comparative fast-tracking trial in an academic emergency department during a period of limited resources. 991 44

The members of a family of four persons suffered acute gastroenteritis after eating a meal consisting of chicken. While three of them recovered rapidly, the 18-year old son developed an acute abdomen which had to be treated surgically and led to a complicated stay at the intensive care unit. Intraoperatively, a mild insignificantly inflamed appendix and an obscure segmental inflammatory process of the small bowel with local peritonitis were seen; this required an appendectomy and a peritoneal lavage. The development of bacterial peritonitis with multiple organ dysfunction required several surgical revisions with an open abdominal toilet treatment. Histological examination of the resected appendix specimen showed a severe primary fibrinoid necrotizing vasculitis with epitheloid-granulomatous reaction. Diseases such as Panenteritis nodosa, Wegener's disease and Churg-Strauss's syndrome were excluded by negative serology. By a process of exclusion, a hypersensitivity vasculitis was diagnosed and treated successfully with a high-dose cortisone regime.
 ...
PMID:[Hypersensitivity vasculitis causing an acute abdomen]. 1023 76

Bacillus cereus is a food-borne pathogen that causes a self-limiting gastroenteritis. We describe the case of a 72-year-old woman admitted to our hospital because of acute abdominal colic pain. Over a 2-day period, her clinical condition deteriorated rapidly, with the appearance of acute abdomen. Computed tomography investigation of the abdomen showed a liver abscess (diameter approximately 3 cm). At laparotomy, the abscess was found to be ruptured to the free peritoneal cavity. The final clinical diagnosis was acute peritonitis due to a ruptured liver abscess. Bacillus cereus was isolated from culture of the pus. Up to now, no case of liver abscess due to this organism has been reported.
 ...
PMID:Liver abscess due to Bacillus cereus: a case report. 1468 90

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, pigbel (enteritis necroticans) was the most common cause of death in children over the age of 1 year in hospitals in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). There has been recent widespread perception that after the successful vaccination program in the 1980s the disease virtually disappeared. A new vaccine is now available, but disease burden information is conflicting: despite almost no pigbel being reported from major hospitals there have been many reports of the disease from outlying health centres. This study aimed to provide information on the disease burden of pigbel in PNG, so that appropriate vaccine policy decisions could be made. We conducted a 12-month prospective study of all cases of acute abdomen in children presenting to 38 health facilities, 29 health centres and 9 hospitals in the highlands. Children were eligible for inclusion if they were aged 1-12 years and had abdominal pain of less than 2 weeks' duration. A standardized case definition of pigbel was used to distinguish cases of acute abdominal pain very likely to be due to pigbel from cases very likely to be accounted for by other diagnoses (such as gastroenteritis, typhoid, dysentery, intussusception, urinary tract infection and others). A total of 119 cases of acute abdomen were reported from 17 of the 38 health facilities involved. Of these 119 cases 11 met the criteria for pigbel and a further 8 were probable cases. There were 4 deaths among the 119 children with acute abdomen: 2 from definite pigbel, 1 from probable pigbel and the other due to complications of measles. In 2002 pigbel was the cause of between 9% and 16% of presentations with acute abdominal pain in children in the PNG highlands. The overall disease burden of pigbel was relatively small (19 definite or probable cases and 3 deaths in 12 months). However, there was substantial geographical clustering of cases: more than 50% of the definite cases occurred in children living within three electorates on the Western Highlands-Enga provincial border, no more than 40 km from each other. This study will be useful in planning pigbel vaccine policy and future surveillance.
 ...
PMID:In search of pigbel: gone or just forgotten in the highlands of Papua New Guinea? 1645 95

The case of a 20 month-old girl that was admitted to the emergency ward because of worsening of her general condition in the setting of acute non-bloody gastroenteritis is reported. The clinical examination revealed signs of severe dehydration and a prominent tender abdomen. Laboratory evaluation showed leucocytosis, elevated C-reactive protein and severe hypochromic microcytic anemia. Abdominal X-ray revealed diffuse meteorism. The child underwent laparascopic evaluation. A perforated Meckel's diverticulum was found. Perforation and anemia due to occult bleeding are unusual presentations of Meckel's diverticulum. The differential diagnosis of children presenting with an acute abdomen with special focus on Meckel's diverticulum is discussed.
 ...
PMID:[A young child with acute abdomen and iron deficiency anemia]. 1677 51

A 1-year-old boy presented at our hospital with common gastroenteritis symptoms such as fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. Clinical and laboratory findings were normal. An emergency ultrasound examination was performed and excluded abdominal complications. After 2 days of complete regression of symptoms, the patient began to vomit again, diarrhoea stopped with a sudden worsening of clinical conditions. Laboratory and radiological findings showed signs of an acute abdomen with differential diagnosis between an infectious and an obstructive cause. Owing to the rapid and progressive toxic condition, an emergency laparoscopy was performed. An axial torsion of a swollen and gangrenous Meckel's diverticulum was detected.
 ...
PMID:A common case of gastroenteritis in a child followed by an axial torsion of Meckel diverticulum: a rare and unusual complication. 2343

Acute abdomen can be defined as a medical emergency in which there is sudden and severe pain in abdomen with accompanying signs and symptoms that focus on an abdominal involvement. It accounts for about 8 % of all children attending the emergency department. The goal of emergency management is to identify and treat any life-threatening medical or surgical disease condition and relief from pain. In mild cases often the cause is gastritis or gastroenteritis, colic, constipation, pharyngo-tonsilitis, viral syndromes or acute febrile illnesses. The common surgical causes are malrotation and Volvulus (in early infancy), intussusception, acute appendicitis, and typhoid and ischemic enteritis with perforation. Lower lobe pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis and acute porphyria should be considered in patients with moderate-severe pain with little localizing findings in abdomen. The approach to management in ED should include, in order of priority, a rapid cardiopulmonary assessment to ensure hemodynamic stability, focused history and examination, surgical consult and radiologic examination to exclude life threatening surgical conditions, pain relief and specific diagnosis. In a sick patient the initial steps include rapid IV access and normal saline 20 ml/kg (in the presence of shock/hypovolemia), adequate analgesia, nothing per oral/IV fluids, Ryle's tube aspiration and surgical consultation. An ultrasound abdomen is the first investigation in almost all cases with moderate and severe pain with localizing abdominal findings. In patients with significant abdominal trauma or features of pancreatitis, a Contrast enhanced computerized tomography (CECT) abdomen will be a better initial modality. Continuous monitoring and repeated physical examinations should be done in all cases. Specific management varies according to the specific etiology.
 ...
PMID:Emergency management of acute abdomen in children. 2345 44


1 2 Next >>