Indications include stenosis (oesophageal and colonic) and gastric outlet obstruction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic relapsing gastrointestinal disease, often affecting young people during their fertile years. The chronic character of IBD means that lifelong medical treatment is often required. As such, it is not surprising that questions often arise about fertility and pregnancy in patients with IBD. The most important risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes in IBD patients is the presence of disease activity during pregnancy. Indeed, negative pregnancy outcomes (e.g. spontaneous abortion, preterm delivery and low birth weight) are associated with disease activity at the time of conception and during pregnancy.

Jaundice can be caused by abnormalities in any of the steps comprising the formation, metabolism and excretion of bilirubin. In addition, these processes may be functioning properly, but jaundice can be seen because of an obstruction of the biliary tree at any point, from its intrahepatic origins to its end at the ampulla of Vater. For this reason, it is clear that numerous conditions can result in jaundice. When faced with a patient presenting with jaundice a reasonable and careful diagnostic approach is, therefore, warranted to elucidate the underlying cause of this sign. Conventional wisdom may be that “jaundice by itself never killed anyone,” but it is imperative to find the cause as soon as possible, as prompt intervention saves lives in many cases.

Chronic gastritis is a common condition that occurs when an inflammatory infiltrate is present in the gastric mucosa. Diverse factors can cause such inflammation to develop, including food, common bacteria (particularly Helicobacter pylori) and even some viruses. Although the inflammatory infiltrate itself may not cause a disease per se, in some cases gastritis will evolve into atrophic gastritis, ulcers or gastric cancer. Clinicians therefore need to be aware of when gastritis is a harmless condition that can be left alone and when further action is required. In addition, many patients and some clinicians use the term ‘chronic gastritis’ to describe symptoms, mostly those of dyspepsia. This misuse of the terminology can lead to the erroneous conclusion that a diagnosis is being discussed and not a symptom. Here we address these mistakes and some of the others that are frequently made when managing patients with chronic gastritis. We discuss how to avoid making the mistakes to ensure that patients are managed adequately while reducing over treatment.