DIARRHEA
Definition. Diarrhea is either an increased
frequency or volume of stool per day; stool can also
be defined as diarrhea if the number of stools per day is few, but their consistency is watery.
Pathogenesis. The most common
causes of diarrhea
are of an infectious, antibiotic-associated, or
lactose-intolerance etiology or from irritable bowel or carcinoid syndrome.
Clinical Presentation. The patient
is often hypotensive, febrile, and experiencing abdominal pain.
Diagnosis. The first thing to do in the evaluation of diarrhea
in terms of direct patient care is to see if there is hypovolemia as defined as
hypotension or orthostasis. This is more important than determining the
specific etiology because of the chance that the patient may die while waiting
for the results to come back.
Treatment. No matter the etiology, if the patient
is hypotensive, febrile,
and having abdominal pain, he or she should be
admitted to the hospital and given intravenous fluids and antibiot- ics. The
presence of blood in the stool is especially serious and is probably the single
strongest indication for the use of antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin.
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment