Acute gastritis

From IKE

Acute gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach, a type of gastritis. It is also known as erosive gastritis because it is often characterized by erosions or superficial breaks in the gastric mucosa. Causes of acute gastritis can be divided into 2 main categories: those associated with chemical injury, and those associated with stress-related injury.

Chemical injury is the most common cause, and includes injury by aspirin, other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroids, alcohol and bile (when there is bile reflux). Stress injury causes erosive gastritis in patients with severe burns or with trauma to the central nervous system. It also occurs in association with other causes of generalized shock or sepsis.

Several pathogenetic mechanisms play a role in the development of acute gastritis. The end result of all mechanisms is increased susceptibility of the gastric mucosa to the injurious effects of gastric acid. Acute erosive gastritis typically appears endoscopically as petechial hemorrhages and erosions corresponding histologically to superficial necrosis of the mucosa. Patients can present with effects of chronic low-grade blood loss (e.g., with anemia or melena) or with significant upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage.