Chronic duodenitis: symptoms
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The following symptoms are typical for chronic duodenitis:
- Pain in the epigastric region of varying intensity (from relatively mild to very pronounced). Usually painful aching, rarely cramping, occurring more often 1-2 hours after eating. In most patients, the pain decreases or even disappears after ingestion of food and antacids. This kind of pain is most often observed in bulbite and resembles pain in peptic ulcer disease (ulcerative-like variant of chronic duodenitis). This variant of pain is usually due to dyskinesia of the duodenum.
Pain in distal duodenitis can be localized mainly in the right hypochondrium and irradiate to the right subscapular region, provoked by the reception of fatty and fried foods (a cholecystitis-like variant of chronic duodenitis). This variant of pain is usually associated with biliary dyskinesia.
In some patients the pain is localized in the upper epigastric regions and is accompanied by a feeling of heaviness, bursting (gastritoid-like variant of chronic duodenitis).
In a small number of patients, the pain irradiates in the back, the left hypochondrium and is shrouded in nature (pancreatitis-like variant of chronic duodenitis). Usually this variant of pain is caused by papillitis (at the same time, evacuation of pancreatic juice and bile from the duodenum is broken), as well as dyskinesia of the bile ducts.
- Dyspeptic phenomena often accompany chronic duodenitis. Patients are concerned about the feeling of heaviness, bursting in the epigastrium (this is especially characteristic of gastroduodenitis), nausea. With the development of gastroduodenal reflux, bitterness in the mouth, bitter eructation, appear. With severe exacerbation of chronic duodenitis, vomiting is possible. Often patients are concerned about heartburn.
- Vegetative dysfunctions are usually observed in the phase of exacerbation of chronic duodenitis. They are manifested by severe weakness, sweating, palpitations, trembling of the hands, sometimes urges for defecation and a loose stool. These symptoms resemble a clinic of dumping syndrome and usually appear 2-3 hours after a meal. Perhaps the sudden appearance of a feeling of hunger. Vegetative dysfunctions are more often observed in young people and in many respects are caused by a violation of the function of the gastrointestinal endocrine system.
- An objective study of patients reveals the lagging of the tongue, moderate local soreness in the pyloroduodenal zone and epigastric region, where there may be a slight tension of the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall in the period of exacerbation.
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