Anorexia
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Definition
An absence or lack of appetite. Different from anorexia nervosa which is a specific psychiatric disorder where anorexia is a symptom.
Epidemiology
Pathophysiology
Clinical and Associated Features
- GI malignancy - obviously this depends on where the malignancy is in the tract but haematemesis, vomiting, nausea, weight loss, tiredness, blood in stools, diarrhoea
- Secondary malignancy - as for above but not necesssarily with GI symptoms
- Infection
- General - fever, tiredness
- GI-specific - diarrhoea, vomiting, blood in stools (dysentery), weight loss
- IBD - loss of appetite, alternating diarrhoea and constipation, blood in stools, weight loss, tiredness
- Right heart failure - oedema, raised JVP, pulsus alternans, hepatomegaly
- Metabolic disease - nausea, vomiting, malaise
- Drugs - chemo makes you feel all sorts of rubbish. Hopefully in the history it will be clear they have had chemo. Ask them if they have had chemo and if they say yes, they probably had it. Or they have a personality disorder.
- Anorexia nervosa
Differential Diagnosis
- Malignancy - GI malignancy and secondary malignancy
- Infection - gastroenteritis or as a more general sequela of infection
- IBD - just does
- Right heart failure
- Metabolic disease - uraemia, DKA, lactic acidosis, hypercalcaemia, hyponatraemia
- Drugs - chemo
- Anorexia nervosa