Malabsoption and malnutrition

Question 1

What is malabsoption?

Answer 1

It is when you are unable to absorb nutrients due to defective mucosal absoption.

Question 2

What are the common causes of malabsoption?

Answer 2

Coeliac disease - mucosal damage. 
Crohn's Disease - Due to the extensive amounts of fistulas and stricture (narrowing of a section of the intestne).
After infections have occured. 
Billiary obstuction.
Cirrhosis.

Question 3

What is tropical sprue?

Answer 3

Colinisation of the intestine by an infectious agent probably due to exposure to another environment.

Question 4

Which parasite found in contaminated water supplies is responsible for giving people diarhhoea, flatulence and epigastric pain.

Answer 4

Giardia lamblia.

Question 5

What are the symptoms for someone with malabsoption?

Answer 5

Easy brusing - due to deficiency in vitamin C (scurvy)
Diarrhoea.
Skin (dermatitis herpeiformis.
Glossitis and angular stomatitis due to deficiency in B vitamins and Iron.

Question 6

Describe malnutrition?

Answer 6

It is when you have too much or too little of certain nutrient that cause an affect on your body and function.

Question 7

Who needs nutritional support?

Answer 7

BMI<18.5.
Unintentional weight loss >10% with the last 3-6 months.
BMI<20 and unintentional weight loss >5% in the last 3-6 months.
Have eaten nothing or close to nothing in the previous 5 days.

Question 8

Describe enteral tube feeding?

Answer 8

It is when there is delivery of a nutritionally complete feed via a tube into the stomach, duodenum or jejunum.
The tube can be nasogastric, through the nose in to the stomach.
Nasojejunal, through the nose in to the jejunum.
Nasodeodenal, through the nose into the deodenum.

Question 9

What are the complications of enteral tube feeding?

Answer 9

Severe diarrhoea and vomiting.
Intestinal ischaemia.
Lower GI obsturction.

Question 10

Describe parenteral nutrition?

Answer 10

It is when you have nutrient solutions administered directly into the veins.
It is expensive and potentially life threatning, it would only be done as last resort to enteral tube feeding and oral feeding.

Question 11

Describe refeeding syndrome?

Answer 11

It is when there is a potentially fatal shift in fluids and electrolytes due to eating after a prolonged period of starvation.