Differential tests
There are many conditions that produce a chronic diarrhea, which must be differentiated from the relatively common types that last only a few days and usually respond to ordinary treatment. Diarrhea in infants will not be specifically discussed, since this is a special problem peculiar to that age group.
In patients of all ages with [...]
Until the middle of the 1980s, there was no commonly accepted method to test for blood in gastric contents. Methods I have personally seen used in different laboratories include urine dipsticks, orthotolidine tablets, and guaiac-impregnated filter paper. Studies have indicated that small numbers of red blood cells (RBCs) are present in most gastric aspirates without [...]
Gastric analysis has two main uses: to determine gastric acidity and to obtain material for exfoliative cytology. I shall discuss only the first here.
When gastric aspiration is performed to determine gastric acidity, the usual purpose is either (1) to determine the degree of acid production in persons with ulcer or ulcer symptoms of (2) to [...]
Gluten-induced enteropathy includes sprue and celiac disease (childhood nontropical sprue), both diseases that affect the small intestine (predominantly the duodenum and jejunum). Both conditions are caused by immune reaction mediated by T-lymphocytes against gluten, a mixture of proteins found in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats. Celiac disease is found predominantly in Europeans, uncommonly in [...]
The function of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is to perform certain mechanical and enzymatic procedures on food to prepare food for absorption, to absorb necessary dietary constituents into the bloodstream, and to excrete whatever is not absorbed. When the usual dietary constituents are not absorbed normally, symptoms may develop that form part of the syndrome [...]
