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Chapter: Medicine and surgery: Gastrointestinal system

Tropical sprue - Disorders of the small bowel and appendix

A severe malabsorption syndrome endemic in Asia, some Caribbean islands and parts of South America. - Definition, Incidence, Aetiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical features, Complications, Investigations, Management, Prognosis.

Tropical sprue

 

Definition

 

A severe malabsorption syndrome endemic in Asia, some Caribbean islands and parts of South America.

 

 

Aetiology/pathophysiology

 

The condition occurs in epidemics and improves on antibiotics thus it is likely that it has an infective cause.

 

Clinical features

 

Patients present with diarrhoea, anorexia, abdominal distension and weight loss. The onset may be acute or insidious.

 

Investigations

 

The diagnosis can be made on jejunal biopsy, there is colonisation of the gut lumen by toxin producing enterobacteria associated with partial villous atrophy.

 

Management

 

Severely ill patients require resuscitation for dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Nutritional deficiencies should be corrected and antibiotics given, but patients often improve when they leave endemic areas.

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Medicine and surgery: Gastrointestinal system : Tropical sprue - Disorders of the small bowel and appendix |


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