Abdominal

The Causes of abdominal pain page has been revised and a few more causes added to the list.

The Appendicitis page has been updated with information about the high failure rate of antibiotic therapy alone in patients with a faecolith.

The Upper GI haemorrhage page has been updated and the segment on faecal blood testing revised.

The Infectious agents causing gastroenteritis page has been updated with information about Cl. Difficile in ED patients.

The Carcinoma of the colon page has been updated and cholecystectomy added as a risk factor for development.

The Irritable bowel syndrome page has been revised and updated.

A few minor additions have been made to the Pancreatitis page

The Causes of abdominal pain page has been updated with information about the utility of acupuncture in the treatment of severe chronic constipation.

The Dysphagia page has been updated with some additional information about achalasia of the oesophagus.

A short segment on portal venous thrombosis has been added to the Ascites page.

Some additional information about the superiority of CTA over radiolabelled RBCs for the detection of the site of bleeding in lower GI haemorrhage has been added to the Lower intestinal haemorrhage page. Feuerstein, JD, Ketwaroo, G, Tewani, SK, et al. Localizing Acute Lower Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage: CT Angiography Versus Tagged RBC Scintigraphy. AJR Am J Roentgenol … Read more

The Ascites page has been updated with some additional information about the clinical features of ascites.

The Infectious hepatitis page has been updated with the estimated rate of vertical transmission of HCV (~0.2-0.3%).

The Upper GI haemorrhage page has been revised and updated. Laine, L. Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Due to a Peptic Ulcer. N Engl J Med 2016;374(24):2367-76. 

The Lower intestinal haemorrhage page has been revised and updated. Strate, LL, Gralnek, IM. ACG Clinical Guideline: Management of Patients With Acute Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding. Am J Gastroenterol 2016;111(4):459-74.