It ’s time to treat C. diff diarrhea
For millennia, blood-letting was the standard of care for many diseases; today it is a joke, evoked only to mock our predecessors. But it is time to dismount our high horse and realize that there is at least one infection that we still primitively try to drain from the body, not from the bloodstream, but from the colon. This is our friend Clostridium difficile.
According to the CDC, there are about 500,000 cases of C. diff in the U.S. each year and 29,000 deaths, some from overwhelming sepsis and others from the sequelae of dehydration. While we treat the infection with metronidazole, oral vancomycin, and now with fe...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 20, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/eric-r-gottlieb" rel="tag" > Eric R. Gottlieb, MD < /a > Tags: Conditions Gastroenterology Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
Carcinoid Tumor
Carcinoid tumor is a type of neuroendocrine tumor
Pathophysiology
1) contains and may secrete physiologically active substances
2) occurs in GI tract (appendix, rectum, small bowel, stomach), thymus, lung, ovary, and testes
3) produces “local” symptoms, systemic but non-carcinoid syndrome symptoms, and systemic carcinoid syndrome symptoms
Signs and Symptoms of Carcinoid Tumor
Local Symptoms
1) appendix – usually asymptomatic and found incidentally on appendectomy
2) small intestine – obstruction, episodic abdominal pain, bleeding
3) rectum – bleeding, constipation, and diarrhea
4) stomach/thym...
Source: Inside Surgery - November 18, 2013 Category: Surgeons Authors: Editor Tags: Oncology 5-HIAA appendix flushing GI metastases motilin serotonin Source Type: blogs
