Gastritis (patient information)

	Gastritis
Overview
What are the symptoms?
Who is at highest risk?
When to seek urgent medical care?
Diagnosis
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Gastritis?
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Diseases with similar symptoms
Prevention
Gastritis On the Web
Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov
Images of Gastritis
Videos on Gastritis
FDA on Gastritis
CDC on Gastritis
Gastritis in the news
Blogs on Gastritis
Directions to Hospitals Treating Gastritis
Risk calculators and risk factors for Gastritis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief: Jinhui Wu, M.D.; Assistant Editor-in-Chief: Meagan E. Doherty

Overview

Gastritis is an inflammation (irritation and swelling) of the lining of the stomach.

There are two types of Gastritis:

Acute gastritis: a sudden inflammation of the lining of the stomach.
Chronic gastritis: inflammation of the lining of the stomach that persists for a long time.

What are the symptoms of Gastritis?

Abdominal pain
Abdominal indigestion
Dark stools
Loss of appetite
Nausea
Vomiting
Vomiting blood or coffee-ground like material

Who is at highest risk?

Risk factors for Gastritis include:

Consuming excessive amounts of alcohol
Consuming excessive amounts of caffeine
Taking medications such as aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Smoking
Stress
Having an infection with bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)
Having a major surgery
Traumatic injury, burns, or severe infections
Having certain diseases, such as pernicious anemia, autoimmune disorders, and chronic bile reflux

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if symptoms of gastritis persist longer than 2 or 3 days. Call your healthcare provider if you have any of the following symptoms:

Blood vomiting or vomitus with yellow or green emesis
Bloody or dark stools
Unusual rapid heartbeat
Shortness of breath
Profuse sweating
Fever associated with abdominal pain
Pale complexion

Diagnosis

Gastritis is diagnosed through one or more medical tests:

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and biopsy The doctor eases an endoscope, a thin tube containing a tiny camera, through your mouth (or occasionally nose) and down into your stomach to look at the stomach lining. The doctor will check for inflammation and may remove a tiny sample of tissue for tests. This procedure to remove a tissue sample is called a biopsy.
Blood test. The doctor may check your red blood cell count to see whether you have anemia, which means that you do not have enough red blood cells. Anemia can be caused by bleeding from the stomach.
Stool test. This test checks for the presence of blood in your stool, a sign of bleeding. Stool test may also be used to detect the presence of H. pylori in the digestive tract.

Treatment options

Treatment depends on the specific cause. Some of the causes will disappear over time.

Medications known to cause gastritis should be discontinued.
Medications to neutralize stomach acid or decrease its production will usually eliminate the symptoms and promote healing.
Antibiotics are used to treat chronic gastritis caused by infection with Helicobacter pylori.
Gastritis caused by pernicious anemia is treated with vitamin B12.
Gastritis due to stress is best treated by prevention. Medications to decrease gastric acid production such as proton pump inhibitors (PPI) should be given to stressed hospital patients.

Where to find medical care for Gastritis?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Gastritis

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Most gastritis improves rapidly with treatment.

Diseases with similar symptoms

Prevention

Avoid long-term use of irritants (such as aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs, or alcohol).

Sources

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