- Define the following abbreviations: CRC, GI, and RUQ. Define the difference between hepatitis vs. cirrhosis
CRC (colorectal cancer) refers to the type of cancer that develops in the human rectum or colon. It is usually associated with symptoms, such as fatigue, weight loss, change in colon movements, and bloody stool. The Gastrointestinal (GI) tract refers to a chain of hollow organs in humans that form a long and continuous passage from the mouth to the anus. These hollow organs comprise the moth, esophagus (food pipe), stomach, small and large intestine, and anus. The right upper quadrant (RUQ) refers to the uppermost quarter of the human right hand (Lacy et al., 2019). It comprises different organs, such as the small and large intestine, pancreas, gallbladder, kidney, and liver.
- Please define the difference between hematochezia and melena. What possible diseases can cause hematochezia, which can cause melena?
Hematochezia refers to the passage of bloody stool. It is usually linked with lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Similarly, it can also be due to brisk upper gastrointestinal bleeding. On the other hand, melena refers to the excretion of black and tarry stool. Hematochezia usually originates in the lower gastrointestinal tract of the human colon. Some diseases have been realized to cause this condition, including benign tumors, ischemic colitis, internal hemorrhoids, colon cancer, anal fissures, diverticulitis, neoplastic polyps, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). On the other hand, melena usually occurs in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. It is caused by several diseases, such as Mallory-Weiss syndrome, peptic ulcers, stomach cancer, gastritis, and esophageal or gastric varices (Wan & Zeng, 2019). In newborn babies, melena occurs when the baby swallows blood during delivery. Top of Form
- What does a stool guaiac test for? What does a stool culture test for?
Stool guaiac tests are clinically used to examine occult or hidden blood in the human stool sample. Since it is one of the most common fecal occult blood tests (FOBT), it has the potential to examine blood in stool that cannot be seen by human eyes (McCall, 2021). Similarly, a stool culture test is a medical test used to examine germs (for example, fungus or bacteria) in the human stool sample, which causes infection (World Health Organization, 2019).
- What important diagnoses are the specialist trying to test for and rule out?
Hematochezia or melena. During the diagnosis of these disorders, the specialist will be trying to examine and pinpoint the presence of bacteria causing diseases. After that, the specialist will use the laboratory information to diagnose an infection of the patient's digestive system.
- What are the 5 lab/tests/procedures the specialist is planning on performing in order to rule out the possible diagnoses?
- Parasite and ova test – clinically, this test is used for the purpose of detecting parasites or egg (ova) in the stool sample. Ideally, this test is conducted in case the patient is experiencing symptoms linked with intestinal infection, such as fever, headache, frequent diarrhea, presence of mucus or blood in stool, nausea or vomiting, or acute abdominal pain.
- White blood cell test – from the clinical perspective, this test is conducted to detect white blood cells or leucocytes in the stool sample. The presence of leucocytes will indicate the presence of inflammatory bowel disease or bacterial infection (Kronenberger, 2020).
- H.Pylori Antigen test – This test is used to detect the presence of H.Pylori inside the digestive system, determine whether infections trigger the underlying digestive symptoms, and ascertain whether the treatment administered is working or not.
- Faecal occult or hidden blood test – this test is used to check occult blood in a stool sample. If blood is found in the stool sample, it will indicate bleeding from the digestive tract because of conditions such as colorectal cancer, hemorrhoids, diverticulosis, polyps, or colitis.
- Stool DNA test – this test is clinically used for the purpose of detecting abnormal DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which occurs because of colon cancer, colon polyps, or the presence of occult in a stool sample (Coll, 2019). Usually, this test is done on patients who do not experience any signs or symptoms.
References
In Coll, P. (2019). Healthy Aging: A Complete Guide to Clinical Management. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Press
In Lacy, B. E., In DiBaise, J. K., In Pimentel, M., & In Ford, A. C. (2019). Essential medical disorders of the stomach and small intestine: A clinical casebook.
KRONENBERGER, J. U. D. Y. (2020). JONES & BARTLETT LEARNING'S COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL ASSISTING. S.l.: JONES & BARTLETT LEARNING.
McCall, R. E. (2021). Phlebotomy essentials. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning
Wan, X.-H., & Zeng, R. (2019). Handbook of Clinical Diagnostics. Singapore: Springer Press
WORLD, H. E. A. L. T. H. O. R. G. A. N. I. Z. A. T. I. O. N. (2019). Bench aids for the diagnosis of intestinal parasites. Place of publication not identified: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION.
