Gastritis refers to the 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 at the site of the mucosa.
Depending on in which part of the organ the inflammation is localized and which tissues are damaged, gastritis is usually divided into several varieties. Fundamental gastritis is also on their list. Consider what causes the appearance of this disease, what are its symptoms, how is the treatment carried out.
General concept
The medical term "fundal gastritis" is understood to mean a type of gastritis in which special digestive glands located in the bottom 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.
The characteristic features of this pathology are the following:
- Mixed types of gastritis involving the digestive glands (for example, antrum with fundus gastritis) are quite rare. In other words, with the development of the fundus type of the 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 fundus gastritis
Depending on the characteristics of the course of the disease, it is customary to distinguish 2 types:
- Acute - characterized by clearly expressed symptoms and rapid development.
- Chronic fundal gastritis - the clinical picture is poorly expressed, the inflammatory process can continue for years with periodic exacerbations.
Doctors distinguish between primary and secondary gastritis.
Primary fundal gastritis is rare. Its cause is atrophy of glandular cells under the influence of processes occurring in the human body.
Secondary gastritis develops when exposed to external factors that are of several types (toxic, hypoxemic, neurotrophic, metabolic).
Development reasons
Doctors cannot name the exact reason why fundus gastritis occurs. It is generally accepted that the inflammatory process occurs after the start of the autoimmune system, as a result of which autoimmune cells take the digestive cells of the stomach as foreign and begin to fight them.
Damage to glandular cells and other tissues of the stomach leads to an inflammatory process, as a result of which the functions of the organ are violated:
- Protective properties are reduced.
- A sharp decrease in acidity is observed.
- The metabolism and the process of assimilation of vitamins are disrupted.
- There is tissue atrophy (we are talking about the development of chronic atrophic fundus gastritis).
It is assumed that the impetus for the malfunctioning of the autoimmune system is the negative impact of external and internal factors.
Risk factors
Thanks to medical statistics, doctors were able to identify several factors that are likely to cause a malfunction in the autoimmune system.
- Lack of 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. Especially dangerous is the use of stale foods - they contain a high content of toxins.
- Alcohol abuse. The action of ethanol entering the stomach is aimed at corroding the mucosa and damaging the cells.
- Smoking Resins, heavy metals and other harmful impurities contained in tobacco smoke enter the stomach along with saliva. Their action can also cause autoimmune reactions.
- Digestion of some harmful bacteria. Among them: Epstein-Barr virus, Helicobacter pylory.
- Diseases of the endocrine system. This list contains diabetes mellitus, gout, and thyroid problems.
- Prolonged uncontrolled intake of certain drugs that adversely affect the mucous membrane.
- The psychological factor. Frequent stresses, increased psychological stress can cause disturbances.
- Burns with chemicals or poison. As a result of exposure to some substances on the mucosa, a burn is formed, and subsequently an area with atrophied tissue cells.
Symptoms of the disease
The complexity of the diagnosis is the lack of clear characteristic features. All the symptoms that accompany this pathology are characteristic of many other diseases of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. Manifestations mainly relate to disorders of the digestive system. The severity of the disease is important, so, with superficial fundal gastritis, many patients for a long time do not notice unpleasant sensations.
- Feeling of overcrowding and heaviness in the stomach. 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. This can be an eructation 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 aftertaste in the mouth.
- The appearance of rotten odor from the mouth. This can happen because the food eaten is poorly digested in the stomach and the process of decay has already begun in it.
- Bouts of heartburn. Most often, heartburn provokes easy overeating and the adoption of a horizontal position.
- Stool disorders, periodic manifestations of diarrhea, rumbling in the abdomen.
- Perhaps the periodic occurrence of attacks of weakness and dizziness, active sweating. Such symptoms of fundus gastritis can be explained by the rapid absorption of glucose without treatment.
- Decreased appetite and the associated sharp loss in body weight.
- The lack of many vitamins causes deterioration of the skin, nails and hair.
- A dirty gray or milky white coating appears on the surface of the tongue.
Diagnostics
Without a preliminary comprehensive diagnosis, it is impossible to identify fundal gastritis. For this reason, several types of analyzes are used at once:
- Initial examination of the patient.
- Laboratory tests.
- Hardware research.
The patient with complaints should contact the clinic. The doctor will examine the patient and palpate the epigastric region. With gastritis, there is pain in this area.
Based on the obtained data, the patient is sent for further examination.
Laboratory research
In the list of standard procedures:
- A general urine test is necessary to differentiate the disease and exclude the addition of other diagnoses.
- Blood test - in this case, the hemoglobin, platelet and red blood cell count is fixed (with hemoglobin low in case of fundic atrophic gastritis), the amount of antibodies in the blood is also important.
Instrumental diagnostics
The most accurate data on the condition of the stomach of the doctor is obtained from the results of hardware diagnostics.
- X-ray of the stomach. During this procedure, atrophy of the tissues of the organ is detected.
- Gastroscopy. Under this type of diagnosis, it is customary to understand the procedure for examining the stomach using an endoscope. At the end of a long tube, a mini-camera and a light source are attached. When it enters the stomach, the camera captures the image and transfers it to the computer monitor. With fundic gastritis, thinning of the mucous layer, signs of tissue atrophy, a clear pattern of the vascular network, and insufficiently active peristalsis are observed.
- Using pH metering to study gastric secretion. With atrophy of glandular cells, patients have a low level of hydrochloric acid in the secretory fluid.
The main directions in treatment
For the treatment of fundus gastritis, a carefully selected set of therapeutic measures is required. This is especially true of 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.
- Physiotherapeutic procedures.
- Compliance with a special diet.
Drug 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. Incorrectly selected medication can aggravate the patient's condition and cause complications.
Drug therapy is aimed at suppressing symptoms (blocking dyspeptic syndrome), improving the general condition and restoring the secretory glands.
- Painkillers. If the patient complains of severe frequent pain, anticholinergics or antispasmodics are prescribed. Representatives of these groups are “Tserukal”, “No-shpa”.
- Vitamins and vitamin complexes. To compensate for the lack of vitamins in the human body, a complex of vitamins or the introduction of vitamin B12 is prescribed.
- Activation of the secretory function. For this purpose, agents are prescribed that can stimulate the glandular cells of the stomach. Well established are Proserine and Pentagastrin.
- Enzyme preparations such as Mezim or Creon can help improve digestion.
- If the goal is to restore metabolic processes, then in the list of appointments will be “Actovegin”, “Riboxin”, “Solcoseryl”.
- When bacteria are detected 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. First you need to relieve symptoms and stabilize the patient. When remission of the disease is achieved:
- Electrophoresis Procedures
- Therapy with magnetic currents.
- Applications with a therapeutic effect (dirt and other compounds can act as an active substance).
For each patient, an individual treatment course is selected. Duration also varies and can reach 10-15 procedures.
Therapeutic diet
When identifying fundus gastritis, it is extremely important to adhere to a special diet, especially during an exacerbation.
In acute gastritis, doctors often resort to gastric lavage. At first, you can completely exclude 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 the liquid in small portions, but often.
In the list of foods that should be excluded from the diet:
- Fatty food.
- Smoked meats.
- Salty, spicy foods.
- Fried food.
- Carbonated drinks.
- Alcoholic products.
Instead, the menu should include:
- Broths, liquid soups, low-fat mashed soups.
- Porridge.
- Fish, lean meats, steamed or boiled.
- Steamed or steamed vegetables.
The load on the digestive system should be avoided, so instead of three meals do 4-5. In this case, the portions should be small.
Possible complications
Doctors strongly recommend treating the disease on time, but many patients do not understand how dangerous this is. Fundamental 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 exacerbates the patient's condition and complicates the diagnosis.
- The risk of developing purulent phlegmous gastritis. With this diagnosis, peritonitis (inflammation of the peritoneal tissues), peritonitis (blood poisoning) often occurs. These are the most dangerous consequences, as they can provoke a fatal outcome.
- The development of erosive fundus gastritis. This type of disease is characterized by the appearance of ulcers on the walls of the stomach. In patients with this diagnosis, bleeding is often detected.
- Frequent vomiting is accompanied by severe dehydration with characteristic symptoms.
- Poor absorption of vitamins leads to iron deficiency anemia (anemia).