Gastritis is a medical condition characterized by the inflammation or erosion of the lining of the stomach. It is characterized by gastric mucosal damage represented by inflammation processes, degenerative metaplasia, allergic processes.
Gastritis comes in two forms and they are: * Acute Gastritis
It involves the superficial erosion of the gastric mucosa. With acute gastritis, it is self- limiting. Regeneration of the mucosa occurs within 24 to 72 hours.
* Chronic Gastritis
With chronic gastritis there is prolonged and repeated irritation of the mucosa. It results in progressive, irreversible atrophy of the gastric mucosa and glands. It occurs in three forms; * Superficial gastritis: It causes reddened oedematous mucosa with haemorrhage and small erosion. * Atrophic gastritis: This occurs in all three layers of the stomach and is characterized by a decreased number of parietal and chief cells. * Hypertrophic gastritis: Causes a dull and nodular mucosa with irregular thickening rugae. There are two main classification; * TYPE A (Fundal): It results from parietal cell changes leading to atrophy and cellular infiltration. It may be triggered by psycho-emotional stresses. * TYPE B (Antral): It occurs in the antrum and is usually due to degenerative changes and colonization of the mucosa by bacteria. Example is the Helicobacter pylori.
With chronic gastritis the causes are the same as the acute form. When acute gastritis is not treated, it progresses into the chronic form.
Etiology
Acute Gastritis: This is mostly caused by excessive alcohol consumption and smoking especially on an empty stomach. Potassium and iron supplements, chronic ingestion of irritating food or allergic foods (example mushroom, hot spices, shellfish etc), ingestion of corrosive poison like lead, mercury are also associated with gastritis. Prolonged use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin also causes acute gastritis.
References: 1. Brunner and Suddarth’s (11th edition) Textbook of Medical and Surgical Nursing 2. Roger T. Malseed, PhD, Springhouse Nurse’s Drug Guide, 5th ed. Lippincot, Philadelphia, 2004; 149, 534, 849-852,1227-1228 3. Taylor Gollan SW. Gastrointestinal Emergencies, 2nd ed. Lippincot, Philadelphia, 1997; 219 4. Weller B.F (2001), Bailliere’s Nurses Dictionary,23RD Edition, Harcourt publishers Limited U.K. Websites consulted: * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastritis * http://www.healthplus24.com/diseases/gastritis.aspx * http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2461/ * http://www.webmd.com