A 70-year-old man presented with anorexia, altered bowel habit and weight loss. He had a history of heart failure and rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical examination showed rheumatoid deformity and pedal oedema. Laboratory investigations demonstrated microcytic anaemia, eosinophilia and hypoalbuminaemia. Barium enema and contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography (CT) were performed (figures 1 ...

Acute diverticulitis: Diverticular disease is very common in developed countries. It is Constant pain associated with increasing age: it affects about a third ofthose over the age of Fever 65 and halfofthose over 80. In 1989 in England and Wales 1480 deaths were Nausea and vomiting attributed to complications of diverticular disease. Bleeding Altered bowel habit Localised or generalised tenderness

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43 INTRODUCTION Irritable bowel syndrome is a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by an alteration in bowel habit with abdominal pain in the absence of detectable structural disease (1). It is characterized by abdominal pain or discomfort in association with diarrhea, constipation, alternating diarrhea and constipation, or a mixture of these symptoms. It occurs in approximately 10%–20% of t...

DESCRIPTION Gossypiboma is the term for a surgical swab accidentally left inside a patient’s body. It is derived from the Latin word ‘gossypium’ meaning cotton and the Swahili ‘boma’ meaning place of concealment. Gossypiboma has an incidence of 1:1500 for intra-abdominal operations. Common presentations of gossypiboma are abdominal distension, ileus, tenesmus, pain, palpable mass, vomiting, wei...

INTRODUCTION Some studies have suggested that colorectal cancer at a younger age had distinct biological characteristics: different clinical presentations, more advanced stage at time of diagnosis and poorly differentiated carcinoma. The aim of the study is to analyze clinical and histopathological differences between younger (≤40 years of age) and older (>40 years of age) colorectal cancer pat...

• Consider carrying out tests in primary care if a woman reports unexplained weight loss, fatigue, or changes in bowel habit. • Carry out appropriate tests for ovarian cancer in any woman aged 50 years or over who has had symptoms within the past 12 months that suggest irritable bowel syndrome, because IBS rarely presents for the first time in women of this age. • Advise any woman who is not su...

Although toilet reading (TR) is a common habit, the effect of TR on bowel movements is neglected in the medical literature. Our hypothesis was that TR provides a distraction and acts as an unconscious relaxation technique and allows an easier defecation process. The aim of this study was to assess how common is TR and to map the reading/playing toilet habits in the Israeli adult population. In ...