Enterocolitis of the intestine: symptoms. What is acute enterocolitis, methods of its treatment and prevention Treatment of acute enterocolitis

Enteritis is an inflammation of the small intestine; enterocolitis - simultaneous inflammation of the small and large intestine. There are acute and chronic enterocolitis.

Acute enterocolitis (enteritis). Acute enteritis is rare, more often the lesion proceeds as enterocolitis or gastroenterocolitis. It occurs mainly in the summer-autumn months.

Sometimes it develops with idiosyncrasy (see) to some food substances (strawberries, cottage cheese, raspberries, black currants) and to some medicines.

Predisposing factors: weakening of the body by previous diseases, secretory insufficiency of the stomach, pancreas.

Pathological anatomy. More often found catarrhal changes in the intestinal wall with hyperemia and swelling of the mucous membrane, pinpoint hemorrhages in it.

The clinical picture and the course of the disease depend on the etiology and the previous condition of the patient. The disease begins acutely, with loss of appetite, sometimes vomiting, salivation, and up to 5-10 times a day. Paroxysmal pains are localized around and intensify with bowel movements. Rumbling, pain, decreasing after a stool, again intensified before the next bowel movement. at first mushy, then liquid. With the predominance of fermentative dyspepsia in the feces, a significant amount of organic acids and gas bubbles is observed; with the predominance of putrefactive dyspepsia, there is an increased amount of ammonia in the feces. In severe cases, patients are pale, the skin is dry, the eyes are sunken, the tongue is dry, lined, unpleasant. Belly swollen. With abundant frequent stools, dehydration occurs. Diuresis (the amount of urine excreted) falls. May appear associated with dehydration and depletion of the body with sodium chloride.

- a pathology characterized by an inflammatory lesion of both the small and large intestines due to infectious and non-infectious causes. Due to the large area of ​​the pathological process, the clinical picture can be very variable and include pain, dyspeptic symptoms (nausea, repeated vomiting, stool disorders, flatulence), signs of intoxication. Diagnosis is based on the results of a coprogram, bacteriological culture of feces, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and intestinal radiography. Treatment is carried out in a hospital and involves detoxification, the introduction of antispasmodics and antibiotics, and diet.

General information

Acute non-infectious enterocolitis is not a contagious disease and is caused by increased sensitivity of the intestine to toxic and other irritating substances. There are several types of acute enterocolitis of non-infectious etiology:

  • toxic (with alcoholism, constant intake of certain medications, work with poisons and heavy metals);
  • alimentary (against the background of taking too fatty, spicy and spicy food; abuse of foods rich in fiber; cooking disorders);
  • mechanical (due to chronic intestinal obstruction, narrowing of the intestine due to scars and tumors, constipation);
  • allergic (usually associated with another allergic pathology - bronchial asthma, hay fever);
  • ischemic (necrotic enterocolitis of newborns, in adults occurs against the background of thrombosis of mesenteric vessels and abdominal trauma).

Symptoms of acute enterocolitis

The clinical picture of acute enterocolitis largely depends on its causes. The most common signs of the disease are intense cramping pains in the abdomen without a clear localization, diarrhea (liquid stools mixed with mucus and undigested lumps of food, blood), nausea and repeated vomiting of acid and bile, intoxication phenomena (fever, headache, dizziness, muscle pain and joints).

The onset of acute enterocolitis is usually sudden, associated with abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. Due to intense fluid loss with vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration develops, internal organs suffer from hypoxia. This leads to severe toxemia, toxins enter the intestines with the bloodstream and further damage the mucous membrane. Due to the secondary toxic damage to the small and large intestines, the process is aggravated, the phenomena of intoxication are growing. It is because of this that acute enterocolitis is a very dangerous disease - without timely treatment, severe damage to internal organs is noted.

On examination, a patient with acute enterocolitis has a suffering appearance, facial features are pointed due to dehydration, the skin and mucous membranes are dry. The tongue is coated with a whitish coating. The abdomen is swollen, growls on palpation. The amount of urine may be reduced (oliguria).

Differentiation of acute enterocolitis of a non-infectious nature should be with surgical diseases (“acute abdomen”), infectious pathology. Acute enterocolitis can be complicated by severe exsicosis, intestinal perforation, generalized infectious process (sepsis).

Diagnosis of acute enterocolitis

Repeated consultation of a gastroenterologist after establishing the cause of acute enterocolitis is necessary for the appointment of instrumental studies: plain radiography and ultrasound of the abdominal organs make it possible to identify spasmodic areas of the small or large intestine, increased intestinal flatulence, filling defects. X-ray of the passage of barium through the small intestine is needed for differential diagnosis with acute surgical pathology.

Consultation with an endoscopist is required for sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy. In acute enterocolitis in the large intestine, ulcerations, accumulations of mucus and pus, sources of bleeding in places of necrosis of the intestinal wall are visualized.

Treatment of acute enterocolitis

Patients with acute enterocolitis require hospitalization in the gastroenterology department or infectious disease hospital. First of all, detoxification and replenishment of fluid deficiency are performed. For this purpose, intravenous infusion of water-salt solutions is established, gastric lavage and cleansing enemas are carried out. On the first day of the disease, therapeutic starvation is required, then rice water, mucous porridges, and “second” broths are introduced into the diet.

As a symptomatic treatment, enzyme preparations are used, means for normalizing intestinal motility. For washing the stomach and intestines, it is recommended to use decoctions of herbs (chamomile, calendula, etc.). With severe diarrhea, a decoction of oak bark, bird cherry and St. John's wort in the form of tea will help. Sea buckthorn oil, taken orally, promotes healing of the intestinal mucosa.

Diet in acute enterocolitis depends on the level of damage (mainly small or large intestine), the nature of the pathological processes in the intestine, the type of dyspeptic disorders. If the small intestine is affected, more protein, vitamins and trace elements should be included in the diet. With putrefactive processes in the intestines, protein, on the contrary, is excluded, like fiber, fermented milk products. If fermentation processes predominate, it is necessary to abandon rye bread, milk, a large amount of sweets, cabbage and legumes.

Forecast and prevention of acute enterocolitis

Prevention of acute enterocolitis consists in observing the rules of personal hygiene and food preparation, rational nutrition, timely treatment of intestinal infections, and a responsible approach to taking various medications. The prognosis for acute enterocolitis is favorable, however, the lack of proper treatment or its premature termination can lead to the development of complications, bacterial carriage, and chronic forms of the disease.

Enterocolitis is perhaps one of the most unpleasant diseases that sooner or later overtakes almost all of us. It comes on suddenly, sweeps like a storm throughout the body, and disappears, fortunately, without a trace, producing significant "devastation" in the form of dysbacteriosis, temporary indigestion, asthenic syndrome.

But, before delving into the methods of treatment and symptoms of intestinal enterocolitis in adults, you need to understand the level of damage to the gastrointestinal tract, since it consists of several sections and each of them has its own characteristic symptoms of the lesion.

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What it is?

As you know, a medical diagnosis resembles a train of several wagons, led by a locomotive. In this case, our “train” looks like this: (entero) + (col) + (it), which means damage to the small intestine (entero), damage to the large intestine (colon), inflammatory genesis. The suffix "-itis" speaks of the inflammatory nature.

Of course, inflammation refers to inflammation of the inner, mucous membrane, and not all layers of the intestine. But enterocolitis is a disease that rarely occurs in a "pure" form. After all, the infection most often enters the body by the fecal-oral transmission mechanism, which is realized, for example, using the water or food route.

Therefore, the first symptoms of enterocolitis occur already in the stomach, and gastroenterocolitis is the most common. Then the symptoms of damage to the stomach, as the toxins and microorganisms advance, are replaced by signs of enteritis, and then - colitis.

It should be understood that this diagnosis is syndromic, that is, a variety of reasons can lead to intestinal damage, for example, not only infections, but also autoimmune disorders, for example, ulcerative colitis. But in this case, nevertheless, an isolated lesion of the gastrointestinal tract occurs, and enterocolitis is almost always the diagnosis of infectious disease specialists.

What are the symptoms of enterocolitis? Let's bring complete clarity to this issue.

Symptoms of enterocolitis and lesions of the upper gastrointestinal tract

At first, for example, when using the old "salad", there is an incomprehensible malaise. Sometimes, if the food contained a large amount of microbial toxins, there is a sharp chill with a rise in temperature.

But most often, the first symptoms occur - this is nausea and repeated vomiting, bringing weak and temporary relief. This is how any, more or less serious intestinal infection begins. And nausea with vomiting are signs of gastritis, or stomach damage.

  • Also, these symptoms are called signs of upper, or gastric dyspepsia.

Enteritis

Then infectious toxins and live microorganisms descend into the intestines, and signs of enteritis develop. These include the following symptoms, which are called signs of intestinal dyspepsia:

  • The appearance of copious, watery loose stools, or the occurrence of diarrhea syndrome, frequent urge to defecate;
  • "Twisting" pain in the abdomen, localized in the umbilical region;
  • Rumbling in the abdomen, bloating.

Often a situation in which the symptoms of acute enteritis occur against the background of nausea and vomiting. This leads to loss of fluid and salts, due to the development of dehydration syndrome, or dehydration.

In some cases, especially in young children, dehydration is the cause of the development of a serious condition, and even death. An example of such an infection that causes severe enteritis "in its pure form", without signs of gastritis and is cholera.

It is with cholera that dehydration and thickening of the blood reaches its limit, during the day a person can lose up to a quarter of his weight with diarrhea, turning from a blooming young man into a wrinkled, dehydrated old man.

There is even the concept of "cholera bed" - this is a bed under which a bucket of bleach is placed, and a hole is made in a known place so that the patient can recover lying down. There is simply no strength to stand up. It is with cholera that dehydration must be dealt with in the first place.

  • More about .

Enterocolitis and colitis

Now the large intestine also takes over, as microbial inflammation reaches its departments. As always, against the background of fading symptoms of enteritis and almost completed symptoms of gastric dyspepsia, there are signs of damage to the large intestine. Therefore, the symptoms of acute enterocolitis include:

  • The appearance of another character of abdominal pain - spasms;
  • The occurrence of frequent and false urge to defecate - tenesmus;
  • A gradual decrease in stool volume, up to a bloody mucous "spit".

This dynamic of symptoms is very characteristic of dysentery. The classic sign is bloody, scanty stools, general signs of intoxication, and an agonizing, fruitless urge to have a bowel movement.

Dysentery can be caused by both shigella (a bacterial form) and amoeba - the simplest organisms.

Infectious enterocolitis is a condition that can disrupt the balance of the normal microflora that lives in the colon for a long time. Not only does heavy and frequent loose stools carry beneficial microbes away, antibiotics also do the trick.

Therefore, after the appointment of antibiotic therapy, treatment with eubiotics and bacterial preparations is always required, which improve the state of the intestinal microflora.

Thus, in enterocolitis there is a combination of watery, profuse, and relatively painless small bowel stools and spasmodic, scanty, cramping, and distressing colonic stools. Since these two stools cannot flow at the same time, enteritis is usually replaced by colitis within 2 to 3 days.

Symptoms and course of enterocolitis in children

Acute enterocolitis in children is not a specific, "childhood" infection, such as rubella, measles or mumps. But this does not diminish its severity. A child's body is not as balanced as an adult's body. Therefore, dehydration is the hardest thing for babies, and fever is in second place.

But the febrile seizures feared by inexperienced parents are far less dangerous than exsicosis, or dehydration.

At first glance, the loss of fluid in the stool for parents does not seem significant, but for the baby, the loss of a liter of water is a life-threatening condition. The following signs speak of its development:

  • "Dry" crying and lack of tears in the baby;
  • dry mouth;
  • Hoarse and muffled voice and crying due to dehydration of the vocal cords;
  • Retraction of fontanelles on the skull;
  • A sharp decrease in tissue turgor.

In the presence of these symptoms, urgent hospitalization in an infectious diseases hospital is necessary, since it is very difficult to force the baby to replenish the baby's body with fluid with a drink.

In the smallest, a serious complication can occur - necrotizing enterocolitis in newborns. In this case, the inflammation penetrates deep into the intestinal wall, with the possible development of necrosis. The most common are ulcers and necrosis. This form occurs due to the pronounced necrotizing action of pathogenic microflora. After all, the body of a newborn does not have any immunological protection, except for mother's milk.

Most often, these severe forms of the disease occur due to perinatal infection with streptococcus aureus, and various types of pathogenic streptococci. Quite often, intestinal inflammation is associated with prematurity, various options for underdevelopment of the child.

Diagnosis and treatment of this condition should be very prompt, because without treatment, irreversible changes can develop in 1-2 days that can cause the death of the baby.

Treatment of enterocolitis in adults, drugs and methods

Work with the patient begins with an assessment of his danger to others. Quite often, not only the hospitalization of a person in the intestinal department of an infectious diseases hospital is needed, but also his placement in a separate box. Rospotrebnadzor, together with epidemiologists, removes suspicious goods from the distribution network, in the case of the water route, bathing is prohibited, etc., and the patient is treated according to the rules.

The main principles of treatment of acute enterocolitis in adults are as follows:

1) Diet

The diet for enterocolitis is called "intestinal". Assigned. Its distinctive features are complete sparing of the intestines and digestive organs - chemical, mechanical, thermal. All food should be easily digestible, and not cause a laxative effect, as well as an increase in peristalsis.

An example of such dishes can be rice soup with chicken broth, and lingonberry jelly. The diet is prescribed until the stool normalizes.

2) Fighting dehydration

Prevention and therapy of exsicosis is the basis for the treatment of acute enterocolitis. So, with cholera, people die of dehydration, and not at all from fever or terrible pain. Diarrhea in cholera is painless.

There are two types of rehydration, or fluid replacement. Oral type, in which the patient diligently drinks saline solutions (Regidron, Citraglucosolan), which are optimally balanced in ionic and osmolar composition, taking into account body losses. With dehydration, acidification of the body develops, and with severe vomiting, alkalization, or metabolic alkalosis.

In order to have an idea of ​​the volume of water exchange in the intestine, it must be said that 8-9 liters of fluid pass through it every day: this is food, drink, secretion of bile and pancreatic, gastric juices, saliva. With feces, 150-200 g of water per day comes out, everything else is absorbed.

Therefore, with severe diarrhea, you need to replenish these 8-9 liters. The rate of fluid intake should be 1-1.5 liters per hour, until a volume equal to 50-55 ml / kg of body weight is reached. This means that a 100 kg man should drink at least 5 liters of saline solution in 5-7 hours, and the solution should be heated to body temperature.

In severe cases, the solutions are infused in a heated form through two subclavian catheters (small veins collapse and become empty), while treating hypovolemic shock. Intravenous rehydration is carried out with isotonic solutions (Trisol, Quartasol, Acesol).

3) Infection control

This section includes all antibacterial therapy, the use of antibiotics. Of course, in the case of viral diarrhea, antibiotics are not used, but pathogenetic therapy and fluid replacement continue.

4) Symptomatic therapy

In the treatment of acute enterocolitis, it includes giving antipyretics, the introduction of myotropic antispasmodics, which reduce spasms and peristalsis, thereby reducing abdominal pain, the appointment of enzyme preparations to facilitate digestion during the recovery period;

5) Treatment of dysbacteriosis

After stopping the diarrheal syndrome, drugs are prescribed that prepare the environment for normal microflora. These include "Hilak - Forte". Then drugs such as Bactisubtil, Linex are used.

Of course, the treatment of enterocolitis includes the use of various drugs and methods. So, on the first day of profuse diarrhea, indomethacin can be used, which reduces the secretion of fluid into the intestinal lumen.

Sorbents are prescribed ("SUMS", polyphepan, "enteros-gel", ordinary activated carbon). In severe cases, treatment of the patient in intensive care is required, since an infectious-toxic shock occurs.

Forecast

Classic infectious enterocolitis can be severe and even fatal. The main complications that arise with this disease are as follows:

  • The development of infectious - toxic shock. Appears with pronounced antigenicity and immunogenicity of pathogens, for example, with salmonellosis and shigellosis dysentery. It often develops in children, as well as in debilitated elderly patients;
  • A sharp development of dehydration due to profuse diarrhea (cholera, salmonellosis, food intoxication, typhoid fever), with the occurrence of hemoconcentration, blood clotting, the occurrence of intravascular thrombosis;
  • The appearance of perforated ulcers in the colon with long-term current colitis. In the event that there are a lot of them, then the entire intestinal wall may resemble a "sieve", and peritonitis develops. Severe, diffuse peritonitis on the background of infectious shock, as a rule, leads to the death of an emaciated patient suffering from prolonged dysentery;
  • The occurrence of DIC is a syndrome that often accompanies severe intestinal infections.

In conclusion, it should be noted that you should not put an equal sign between the usual "diarrhea" and a serious illness. Enterocolitis, the symptoms and treatment of which we examined in adults, requires a special approach in children, in patients with diabetes mellitus, and since the massive administration of fluid and salts, despite the obvious need, can occur with various complications.

But, in order for the usual “diarrhea” not to lead to serious complications, it is necessary to inform the infectious disease specialist in a timely manner, and treatment at home should begin with compensation for fluid losses.

You should not use antibiotics without a doctor's prescription, since this can be not only a rash step, but also "lubricate" the entire clinical picture of the disease. And after that, you can simply not find the pathogen that caused acute infectious enterocolitis. In turn, this can complicate the treatment of enterocolitis and lengthen the recovery time of the body.

- acute and chronic diseases of the digestive tract, characterized by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the small and large intestines. The symptom complex for enterocolitis includes abdominal pain, signs of indigestion (nausea, flatulence, rumbling in the abdomen, diarrhea or constipation, mucus and blood in the stool). Enterocolitis is diagnosed on the basis of laboratory data (coprogram, bacteriological culture of feces) and instrumental (colonoscopy, radiography) studies. Treatment consists of following a diet, taking medications (antibiotics, enzymes, probiotics), and conducting physiotherapy.

General information

Enterocolitis is a syndrome of indigestion caused by infectious or non-infectious inflammation of the small and large intestines. Downstream enterocolitis is acute and chronic. Acute enterocolitis is most often combined with acute gastritis (gastroenterocolitis) and differs in its origin into infectious and non-infectious enterocolitis. Sometimes intestinal inflammation can have an allergic etiology, and in addition, poisoning with poisons and drugs can cause the development of acute enterocolitis.

In the case of acute enterocolitis (unlike chronic), the inflammatory process is limited to the mucosa and does not affect the deeper layers. Chronic enterocolitis is often the result of poorly treated acute intestinal inflammation. This disease proceeds for a long time, with periods of exacerbations and remissions, over time, destructive changes in the mucosa develop and the submucosal layers of the intestinal wall are captured. Prolonged chronic enterocolitis leads to persistent violations of the functional characteristics of the intestine, indigestion.

Classification

Enterocolitis is classified according to the cause of occurrence:

Acute enterocolitis

Acute enterocolitis begins suddenly, with severe acute clinical symptoms: pain, rumbling in the abdomen, bloating, nausea, and possibly vomiting. The tongue is coated with a coating, palpation reveals pain in the abdomen. As a rule, the disease is accompanied by diarrhea. In cases of the infectious nature of enterocolitis, mucus, sometimes blood, is detected in the feces. In addition, infectious enterocolitis is characterized by an increase in body temperature and symptoms of acute intoxication (weakness, headache, muscle aches).

Chronic enterocolitis

It proceeds both with mild clinical symptoms in the early stages of the disease, and severely, with the development of life-threatening complications. The following signs are most characteristic of an exacerbation of chronic enterocolitis:

  1. Abdominal pain, most often in the navel, but may be spilled. The severity of pain depends on the severity of the process. It is more typical for pain to occur in the afternoon, but earlier pain is also likely. With the predominant localization of inflammation in the small intestine, the pain is rather dull, moderate. Inflammation of the large intestine is manifested by intense pain. Increased pain occurs a couple of hours after eating, before defecation, during physical exertion, fast walking, running, jumping.
  2. Defecation disorders- constipation or diarrhea, their alternation.
  3. Flatulence- bloating. It occurs as a result of excessive gas formation due to indigestion.
  4. Dyspeptic syndrome. Violation of the digestion of food in the intestines of a fermentative, putrefactive or mixed type.
  5. Astheno-vegetative syndrome. Occurs with a long course of enterocolitis as a result of a violation of tissue metabolism (weakness, lethargy, increased fatigue, a tendency to apathy and impaired attention).
  6. Weight loss. It is typical for patients in whom the small intestine is predominantly affected. In individuals suffering predominantly from colitis, weight loss is possible when food is refused as a result of fear of pain and progression of the disease.

Diagnostics

Acute enterocolitis is diagnosed quite simply on the basis of an epidemiological history, bright characteristic symptoms and coprogram data, bacteriological examination of feces. If necessary, it is possible to carry out rectoscopy.

Chronic enterocolitis is diagnosed on the basis of anamnestic data, a survey, a physical examination, laboratory and instrumental diagnostics. The most informative method for diagnosing enterocolitis with a predominant lesion of the large intestine is:

  • Colonoscopy. When conducting this study, the presence of mucosal areas affected by inflammation, erosion, ulceration, destruction of the mucosa is revealed, if necessary, a biopsy sample can be taken.
  • X-ray examination. X-ray of the passage of barium reveals a change in the intestinal lumen, the nature of the folded structure, wall defects.
  • Laboratory research. In the blood, a picture characteristic of indigestion is revealed: anemia, dysproteinemia, dyslepidemia, ionic imbalance. Feces with a high content of mucus, leukocytes, steatorrhea, amylorrhea, creatorrhea are possible.

The differential diagnosis of chronic enterocolitis is carried out with prolonged dysentery, congenital fermentopathy.

Treatment of enterocolitis

Acute enterocolitis

Patients with acute enterocolitis are prescribed a water-tea diet. If necessary, wash the stomach. With severe diarrhea and vomiting - control the volume of incoming fluid (hydration therapy). You can use rice water and porridge on the water. The pain symptom is removed with antispasmodics, if necessary, detoxification therapy is carried out by infusion. In infectious enterocolitis, antibiotics and sulfa drugs are included in the therapy. As a prevention of dysbacteriosis, drugs are prescribed that restore the normal intestinal flora.

Chronic enterocolitis

In the treatment of chronic enterocolitis, the elimination of the etiological cause of its development is of paramount importance. For this, the following measures are applied:

After eradicating the direct cause of the development of enterocolitis, measures are taken to treat digestive disorders, motility, and dysbacteriosis. All patients with chronic enterocolitis are shown a diet. Out of exacerbation, table number 2 is prescribed, for enterocolitis with predominant constipation - table number 3, with the prevalence of diarrhea - table number 4.

With severe dyspepsia, limit the use of products: with putrefactive dyspepsia - sour-milk products, complex proteins and coarse fiber, with fermentative dyspepsia - whole milk, rye bread, cabbage, foods containing sugar. In the case of predominant localization of inflammation in the small intestine, a diet rich in protein, vitamins and microelements with a high content of calcium is recommended, irritating mucous components (spicy, salty, sour, fried) are excluded from the diet.

Medical therapy:

  • antibacterial agents to suppress the pathological flora (furazolidone, nifuroxazide);
  • enzyme-containing agents to restore normal digestion of food (lipase, amylase, protease, pancreatin);
  • pro-, prebiotics (bifido-, lacto-, enterobacteria, nutrient media for development);
  • agents that normalize intestinal motility (trimebutine, loperamide, mebeverine).

For local treatment of inflammation, microclysters with medicinal herbs can be used. With diarrhea, introduce infusions of oak bark, St. John's wort, bird cherry; with a tendency to constipation - sea buckthorn oil, with flatulence - chamomile decoction. Vinylin is used to heal erosions and ulcers, to stop bleeding.

Patients with chronic enterocolitis in a depressed state of mind may be recommended treatment by a psychotherapist. In chronic enterocolitis, a consultation with a physiotherapist is recommended to select a comprehensive physiotherapeutic treatment, which may include: SMT, bowel cleansing procedures, various types of reflexology, magnetotherapy, etc. Sanatorium treatment at balneological resorts during remission gives a good result in terms of improving the general condition, fixing remissions and improving the quality of life.

Physical activity during an exacerbation should be reduced. But during periods of subsidence of clinical symptoms, regular exercise therapy, walking, aerobics are recommended. An active lifestyle helps to normalize digestion and all body functions, improve psychological status. It is worth avoiding sports in which there is a high probability of injuring the stomach. Special exercises for the abdominal muscles not only strengthen the abdominal wall, but also regulate the pressure in the abdominal cavity, contributing to the normalization of the intestines.

Prevention and prognosis

Timely and adequately treated acute enterocolitis is completely cured and leaves no consequences for the body. 3-6 weeks after infectious enterocolitis, the intestines completely restore their work. The course of chronic enterocolitis depends on the timeliness of detection, elimination of the cause of its occurrence and compliance with measures to normalize nutrition and lifestyle.


The appearance of such an unpleasant disease as acute enterocolitis is most often the result of errors in nutrition and non-observance of personal hygiene rules. The pathophysiological inflammatory process in the intestinal cavity can be triggered by pathogenic microflora or poor-quality food containing various poisons, toxins and aggressive chemical substances. In the absence of timely therapy, it quickly passes into a chronic relapsing form. In this case, the entire human body suffers from a deficiency in the intake of all groups of minerals, vitamins, fluids and nutrients in the blood.

The symptoms and treatment of acute enterocolitis are detailed in this resource, but first it is worth understanding the potential risk factors.

The main causes of the disease can be:

The clinical picture can occur immediately after exposure to a pathological factor. Although in some cases, with a weakened immune system, a delayed onset of the disease is observed. Symptoms may occur 12 to 24 hours later.

Signs and symptoms of acute enterocolitis of the intestine

In acute enterocolitis, symptoms appear suddenly against the background of general well-being. Basically, they are expressed in the disorder of the process of assimilation of nutrients in the cavity of the small intestine. This may be bloating, heaviness in the abdominal cavity, increased peristalsis with strong rumbling and gas formation.

Then more pronounced signs of enterocolitis join:

  • there is repeated liquid stool with a fetid odor and unformed feces (in severe cases, streaks of scarlet blood can be determined);
  • the surface of the tongue is covered first with a white loose, and then with a dense yellow coating;
  • a sour taste appears in the mouth, appetite is disturbed;
  • in severe cases, when secondary pathogenic microflora is attached, the process can spread to the duodenum and stomach cavity - severe nausea and vomiting of stomach contents occur;
  • an increase in body temperature indicates an intestinal infection; with simple alimentary forms, this symptom is usually absent.

Symptoms of intestinal enterocolitis in the chronic phase can manifest themselves in the form of periodic exacerbations against the background of a violation of the diet or diet, suffered nervous shocks and increased physical exertion.

Specific signs of enterocolitis can form, which allow you to quickly make a primary diagnosis:

  • localization of pain in the area around the navel, pain syndrome occurs 1.5 - 2 hours after eating any amount of food or liquid;
  • frequent loose stools without painful tenesmus;
  • increased gas formation, followed by bloating;
  • decreased skin turgor, dry mucous membranes;
  • general malaise, with headaches and muscle weakness.

Diagnosis of intestinal enterocolitis

For diagnosis, sigmoidoscopy, fecal analysis for the presence of pathogenic microflora, and a general clinical blood test are performed. TANK. Be sure to analyze the feces for eggs of worms.

Diagnosis of enterocolitis includes activities aimed at finding the probable cause of this disease. In order to successfully treat intestinal enterocolitis, it is necessary to exclude all factors of pathogenic influence.

In order to determine the form of the disease and make a subsequent prognosis for the patient's life, multiple analyzes of the coprogram, a biopsy, followed by a histological examination of the material obtained are necessary.

It is necessary to exclude intestinal dysbacteriosis and correction of the condition in case of an imbalance in the conditionally pathogenic and beneficial microflora.

How to treat enterocolitis with drugs and antibiotics?

Before treating enterocolitis, it is necessary to conduct a complete examination and exclude a possible intestinal infection. When pathogenic microflora is detected, etiotropic treatment is prescribed. It should be understood that antibiotics for enterocolitis are prescribed only if pathogenic microorganisms sensitive to them are found in the bacteriological analysis of feces. Most often they are prescribed for bacterial enterocolitis, dysentery, salmonellosis. With the rotavirus form of infection, these drugs have no influence factors and can be dangerous to human health.

The most commonly used drugs for the treatment of enterocolitis include a sulfanilamide group, which creates the necessary balance of the intestinal microflora. These are Enterofuril, Biseptol-480, Phthalazol, Metronidazole.

Preparations for enterocolitis may include various probiotics that normalize the composition of the intestinal microflora. To reduce the effects of diarrhea, "Loperamide" can be used, which reduces the severity of symptoms of inflammation in the cavity of the small and large intestines.

In order to restore the water and electrolyte balance, patients are advised to drink a solution of "Rehydron". To eliminate possible toxins and reduce increased gas formation, "Smecta", "Nersmectite" "Activated carbon" is prescribed. With pain syndrome, antispasmodics can be used: "Platifilina hydrochloride", "No-shpa", "Papaverine hydrochloride".

Standards for the treatment of acute enterocolitis of the intestine

In acute enterocolitis, treatment begins with emergency gastric and intestinal lavage. Enemas and gastric probing may be used. It is very important during the first 2 - 3 hours to remove all residues of substances that can have a negative effect on the intestinal mucosa. Standards of therapy also include the administration of antidotes, provided the agent is known. In case of infection, antibiotic therapy is prescribed.

Further treatment of intestinal enterocolitis is carried out with the help of therapeutic nutrition. In the first two days, hunger or the use of exclusively mucous decoctions and soups is recommended. In the future, a table is appointed, in which most of the diet is boiled meat and fish, mucous porridges, light vegetable soups. Fried, spicy and salty foods, various dyes, flavors, food additives, sweets are excluded.

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