Dumping Syndrome Case Study

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Dumping Syndrome Diagnosis By Jonas Wilson, Ing. Med. Dumping syndrome (DS) can be classified as early dumping syndrome (EDS) or late dumping syndrome (LDS) based on the timing of the symptoms after eating. It is a condition that is seen in up to 20% of individuals who undergo gastric, bariatric or esophageal surgeries. The rapid emptying of largely undigested food particles into the small intestines may lead to a host of complications including nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, hypoglycemia, tachyarrhythmia and alterations of consciousness. The diagnosis of both EDS and LDS is a bit of a dilemma as it involves taking into account the signs and symptoms that can be elicited after testing a patient with oral glucose, hydrogen breath tests, which are quite sensitive, and endoscopy or barium swallow studies to discern the anatomy of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Laboratory studies are rarely, if ever, helpful in being able to establish the diagnosis of DS. However, possible laboratory findings can be obtained from biochemical panels and anemia and decrease albumin levels may be discovered in patients that are malnourished. Diagnostic scoring system The Sigstad’s diagnostic scoring system for DS is very helpful in being able to monitor a patient’s response to therapy. It …show more content…

Hence, endoscopy or barium may be used for this purpose. In barium fluoroscopy, barium contrast is ingested and X-ray images are then taken. EDS is characteristically recognized by premature transition of the contrast medium out of the stomach. Radionuclide scintigraphy may also be done, where a medium containing radionuclide is ingested and resultant gamma photons are detected by a gamma camera and results plotted on a graph against time. The rapid gastric emptying associated with DS is illustrated by steep drops in the activity plots of the

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