Gastritis

Gastritis is a general term for a group of conditions with one thing in common: Inflammation, irritation, or erosion of the lining of the stomach.

• The inflammation of gastritis is most often the result of infection with the same bacterium that causes most stomach ulcers or the regular use of certain pain relievers. Drinking too much alcohol also can contribute to gastritis.
• Gastritis may occur suddenly (acute gastritis) or appear slowly over time (chronic gastritis).
• In some cases, gastritis can lead to ulcers and an increased risk of stomach cancer.
• For most people, however, gastritis isn't serious and improves quickly with treatment.

Symptoms

• Many people with gastritis experience no symptoms at all.
• May be dull, vague, aching, gnawing or burning ache or pain (indigestion) in the upper central portion of the abdomen that may become either worse or better with eating. But it may occur anywhere from the upper left portion of the abdomen around to the back.
• Nausea or recurrent upset stomach
• Vomiting (may be clear, green or yellow, blood-streaked or completely bloody depending on the severity of the stomach inflammation)
• A feeling of fullness in the upper abdomen after eating
• Abdominal bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Indigestion
• Burning or gnawing feeling in the stomach between meals or at night
• Hiccups
• Loss of appetite
• Vomiting blood or coffee ground-like material
• Black, tarry stools

Causes

• Inflammation or irritation of the stomach lining due to excessive alcohol use, eating spicy foods, chronic vomiting, stress, or the use of certain medications such as aspirin or other anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
• Weaknesses or injury to the mucus-lined barrier that protects the stomach wall allows digestive juices to damage and inflame the stomach lining.
• A number of diseases and conditions can increase the risk of gastritis, including inflammatory conditions, such as Crohn's disease.

Risk factors

• Bacterial infection. Although infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is among the most common worldwide human infections, only some people with the infection develop gastritis or other upper gastrointestinal disorders. Doctors believe vulnerability to the bacterium could be inherited or could be caused by lifestyle choices, such as smoking and diet. In some people it can cause stomach cancer.
  • Other bacteria and viruses.
• Bile reflux. A backflow of bile into the stomach from the bile tract (that connects to the liver and gallbladder).
• Pernicious anemia. A form of anemia that happens when your stomach is not able to digest vitamin B12.
• Regular use of pain relievers. Pain relievers commonly referred to as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) — such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve, Anaprox DS) — can cause both acute gastritis and chronic gastritis. Using these pain relievers regularly or taking too much of these drugs may reduce a key substance that helps preserve the protective lining of your stomach.
• Older age. Older adults have an increased risk of gastritis because the stomach lining tends to thin with age and because older adults are more likely to have H. pylori infection or autoimmune disorders than younger people are.
• Excessive alcohol use. Alcohol can irritate and erode the stomach lining, which makes your stomach more vulnerable to digestive juices. Excessive alcohol use is more likely to cause acute gastritis.
• Stress. Severe stress due to major surgery, injury, burns or severe infections can cause acute gastritis.
• Cancer treatment. Chemotherapy drugs or radiation treatment can increase your risk of gastritis
• Autoimmune gastritis, this type of gastritis occurs when the body attacks the cells that make up the stomach lining. This reaction can wear away at the stomach's protective barrier.
  • Autoimmune gastritis is more common in people with other autoimmune disorders, including Hashimoto's disease and type 1 diabetes. Autoimmune gastritis can also be associated with vitamin B-12 deficiency.
• Other diseases and conditions. Gastritis may be associated with other medical conditions, including HIV/AIDS, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, sarcoidosis and parasitic infections.

Complications

• Left untreated, gastritis may lead to stomach ulcers and stomach bleeding.
• Rarely, some forms of chronic gastritis may increase the risk of stomach cancer, especially if there is extensive thinning of the stomach lining and changes in the lining's cells.

Diagnosis

• Review of personal and family medical history, and thorough physical evaluation
• Possibly the following tests:
  • Upper endoscopy
  • Blood tests
  • Fecal occult blood tests
  • Upper GI series or barium swallow

Prognosis for Gastrits?

Most people with gastritis improve quickly once treatment has begun.

History

(From: Wikipedia - Gastritis)

In 1,000 A.D, Avicenna first gave the description of stomach cancer. In 1728, German physician Georg Ernst Stahl first coined the term "gastritis". Italian anatomical pathologist Giovanni Battista Morgagni further described the characteristics of gastric inflammation. He described the characteristics of erosive or ulcerative gastritis and erosive gastritis. Between 1808 and 1831, French physician François-Joseph-Victor Broussais gathered information from the autopsies of dead French soldiers. He described chronic gastritis as "Gastritide" and erroneously believed that gastritis was the cause of ascites, typhoid fever, and meningitis. In 1854, Charles Handfield Jones and Wilson Fox described the microscopic changes of stomach inner lining in gastritis which existed in diffuse and segmental forms. In 1855, Baron Carl von Rokitansky first described hypertrophic gastritis. In 1859, British physician, William Brinton first described about acute, subacute, and chronic gastritis. In 1870, Samuel Fenwick noted that pernicious anemia causes glandular atrophy in gastritis. German surgeon Georg Ernst Konjetzny noticed that both gastric ulcer and gastric cancer are the results of gastric inflammation. Shields Warren and Willam A. Meissner described the intestinal metaplasia of the stomach as a feature of chronic gastritis.[31]

Resources & additional reading

• Mayo Clinic – Gastritis
• WebMD - What is Gastritis?
• Johns Hopkins Medicine - Gastritis
• NIH - Gastritis & Gastropathy
• Wikipedia - Gastritis
• Gastritis- Are You a Victim of Stomach Inflammation?!? YouTube (image + info)
• Obesity Doctor – Gastritis. By Dr Avinash Tank (Mch), Gastroenterologist; Published 30 Nov 2021 (image + info)