Gastritis refers to pathological conditions of the digestive system. It is a disease in which inflammation of the gastric mucosa occurs. This can cause organ dystrophy, impaired secretion and the appearance of connective tissue in place of the mucosa.
Depending on which part of the organ the inflammation is localized and what tissues are damaged, gastritis is usually divided into several varieties. In their list is also fundic gastritis. Consider what causes the appearance of this disease, what are its symptoms, how it is treated.
General concept
The medical term "fundal gastritis" is understood as a type of gastritis, in which special digestive glands located in the fundus and middle section of the stomach become inflamed. This type of disease is referred to as autoimmune (A). This condition occurs due to the active work of antibodies directed against the glandular cells of the stomach.
Special FeaturesThis pathology can be called the following:
- Mixed types of gastritis involving the digestive glands (eg, antral with fundic gastritis) are quite rare. In other words, with the development of a fundic type of disease, inflammation most often does not affect other parts of the stomach.
- This type of disease has a high risk of degeneration into a malignant tumor.
Forms of fundic gastritis
Depending on the characteristics of the course of the disease, it is customary to distinguish 2 types:
- Acute - characterized by clear symptoms and rapid development.
- Chronic fundic gastritis - the clinical picture is mild, the inflammatory process can continue for years with periodic exacerbations.
Doctors distinguish between primary and secondary gastritis.
Primary fundic gastritis is rare. Its cause is the atrophy of glandular cells under the influence of processes occurring in the human body.
Secondary gastritis develops under the influence of external factors, which are of several types (toxic, hypoxemic, neurotrophic, metabolic).
Reason for development
The exact reason for the occurrence of fundic gastritis, doctors cannot name until today. It is generally accepted that the inflammatory process occurs after the launch of the autoimmune system, as a result of which autoimmune cells take the digestive cells of the stomach as foreign and begin to fight againstthem.
Damage to the glandular cells and other tissues of the stomach leads to an inflammatory process, as a result of which the functions of the organ are impaired:
- Defensive properties are reduced.
- There is a sharp decrease in acidity.
- Metabolism and the process of assimilation of vitamins are disturbed.
- Tissue atrophy occurs (we are talking about the development of chronic atrophic fundic gastritis).
It is assumed that the impetus for the malfunction of the autoimmune system is the negative impact of external and internal factors.
Risk factors
Thanks to medical statistics, doctors have been able to identify several factors that can presumably cause a malfunction in the autoimmune system.
No diet or proper diet. Irregular food intake, a high content of fried, fatty, smoked foods in the diet negatively affects the general condition of the digestive system. The use of stale foods is especially dangerous - they contain a high content of toxins
Alcohol abuse. The action of ethanol entering the stomach is aimed at corroding the mucosa and damaging cells
Smoking. Tars, heavy metals and other harmful impurities contained in tobacco smoke enter the stomach along with saliva. Their action can also cause autoimmune reactions
Ingestion of some harmful bacteria into the digestive system. Among them: Epstein-Barr virus, Helicobacterpylory
Diseases of the endocrine system. This list includes diabetes, gout, and thyroid disorders
Prolonged uncontrolled intake of certain drugs that negatively affect the mucous membrane
Psychological factor. Violations can be caused by frequent stress, increased psychological stress
Burns from chemicals or poison. As a result of exposure to certain substances, a burn forms on the mucous membrane, and subsequently an area with atrophied tissue cells
Symptoms of disease
Difficulty in diagnosis is the lack of clear characteristic features. All the symptoms that accompany this pathology are characteristic of many other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Manifestations are mainly related to disorders of the digestive system. The severity of the disease is important, so, with superficial fundic gastritis, many patients do not notice discomfort for a long time.
- Feeling of fullness and heaviness in the abdomen. This condition occurs after each regular meal.
- Pain. Pain sensations appear 15-30 minutes after eating and are dull in nature. Sensations are localized in the epigastric region.
- Frequent burping. It can be a belching of both air and small pieces of the food that was eaten before. Such manifestations are explained by a violation of the secretory function of the stomach and the complexity of digestion.
- The presence of a bitter taste inmouth.
- The appearance of rotten breath. This can happen because the food eaten is poorly digested in the stomach and the process of decay has already begun in it.
- Heartburn attacks. Most often, heartburn is provoked by light overeating and taking a horizontal position.
- Stool disorders, occasional diarrhea, rumbling in the abdomen.
- There may be periodic occurrence of attacks of weakness and dizziness, active sweating. Such symptoms of fundic gastritis can be explained by the rapid absorption of glucose without treatment.
- Decreased appetite and associated sudden weight loss.
- Lack of many vitamins causes deterioration of skin, nails and hair.
- Dirty gray or milky white coating protrudes on the surface of the tongue.
Diagnosis
It is impossible to identify fundic gastritis without preliminary complex diagnostics. For this reason, several types of analyzes are used at once:
- Initial examination of the patient.
- Laboratory tests.
- Hardware research.
A patient with complaints should go to the clinic. The doctor will examine the patient and palpate the epigastric region. With gastritis, there is soreness in this area.
Based on the received data, the patient is referred for further examination.
Laboratory studies
In the list of standard procedures:
- General urinalysis - necessary to differentiate the disease andexclude the addition of other diagnoses.
- Blood test - at the same time, the indicator of hemoglobin, platelets and erythrocytes is recorded (with fundal atrophic gastritis, low hemoglobin), the amount of antibodies in the blood is also important.
Instrumental diagnostics
The doctors get the most accurate data on the state of the stomach from the results of hardware diagnostics.
- X-ray of the stomach. During this procedure, atrophy of the tissues of the organ is revealed.
- Gastroscopy. Under this type of diagnosis, it is customary to understand the procedure for examining the stomach using an endoscope. A mini-camera and a light source are attached to the end of a long tube. When it enters the stomach, the camera captures the image and transmits it to the computer monitor. With fundic gastritis, there is a thinning of the mucous layer, signs of tissue atrophy, a clear pattern of the vascular network, insufficiently active peristalsis.
- The use of pH-metry to study the secretion of the stomach. With atrophy of glandular cells, patients have a low level of hydrochloric acid in the secretory fluid.
Main directions in treatment
For the treatment of fundic gastritis, a carefully selected set of therapeutic measures is required. This is especially true for the chronic course of the disease. To eliminate the symptoms and restore the normal functioning of the stomach, it will take a long time and exposure in several directions:
- Drug therapy.
- Physiotherapy treatments.
- Following a special diet.
Medicated treatment
The selection of medicines should be carried out only by the attending physician based on the results of the diagnosis. Self-medication is strictly prohibited. The wrong medicine can aggravate the patient's condition and cause complications.
Drug therapy is aimed at suppressing symptoms (blocking the dyspeptic syndrome), improving the general condition and restoring the functioning of the secretory glands.
- Painkillers. If the patient complains of severe frequent pain, anticholinergics or antispasmodics are prescribed. The representatives of these groups are “Tserukal”, “No-shpa”.
- Vitamins and vitamin complexes. To compensate for the lack of vitamins in the human body, a vitamin complex or the introduction of vitamin B12 is prescribed.
- Activation of the secretory function. For this purpose, drugs are prescribed that can stimulate the glandular cells of the stomach. “Prozerin” and “Pentagastrin” have proven themselves well.
- Enzyme preparations, such as Mezim or Creon, can help improve the digestion process.
- If the goal is to restore metabolic processes, then Actovegin, Riboxin, Solcoseryl will be on the list of appointments.
- When detecting bacteria in the body, "Amoxicillin", "Tetracycline" and some other broad-spectrum antibiotics are used.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy procedures are prohibited for use during an exacerbation of the disease. The first step is to relieve the symptoms andstabilize the patient's condition. When remission is achieved, the disease is carried out:
- Electrophoresis procedures.
- Magnetic current therapy.
- Appliques with a therapeutic effect (mud and other compounds can act as an active substance).
For each patient, an individual selection of a course of treatment is carried out. The duration also varies and can be up to 10-15 treatments.
Therapeutic and preventive diet
When identifying fundic gastritis, it is extremely important to follow a special diet, especially during an exacerbation.
In acute gastritis, doctors often resort to gastric lavage. At first, you can completely eliminate food. Instead, to restore the water balance in the body, you can drink non-carbonated mineral water and weak saline solutions. You need to consume liquid in small portions, but often.
On the list of foods that should be excluded from the diet:
- Fatty food.
- Smoked meats.
- S alty, spicy foods.
- Fried dishes.
- Soda drinks.
- Alcoholic products.
Instead, the menu should be:
- Bouillons, thin soups, low-fat mashed soups.
- Porridge.
- Fish, lean meats, steamed or boiled.
- Vegetables stewed or steamed.
You should avoid burdening the digestive system, so instead of three meals, do 4-5. At the same time, portions should be small.
Possible Complications
Doctors strongly recommend treating the disease on time, but many patients do not understand how dangerous it is. Fundal gastritis without treatment leads to the following complications:
- Malignant tumors (cancer). The autoimmune type of the disease is more prone to degeneration into oncology.
- Pancreatitis. An active inflammatory process in the stomach can spread to the pancreas. The result is a mixed clinical picture, which aggravates the patient's condition and makes diagnosis difficult.
- Risk of development of purulent phlegmous gastritis. With this diagnosis, peritonitis (inflammation of the tissues of the peritoneum), peritonitis (blood poisoning) often occurs. These are the most dangerous consequences, as they can provoke a fatal outcome.
- Development of erosive fundic gastritis. This type of disease is characterized by the appearance of ulcers on the walls of the stomach. Patients with this diagnosis often bleed.
- Frequent vomiting is accompanied by severe dehydration with characteristic symptoms.
- Poor absorption of vitamins leads to iron deficiency anemia (anemia).
