Orris

Laboratory and instrumental investigation of the digestive system.

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This topic includes:
  1. Clinical assessment
    • History, inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation
    • Nutritional assessment and signs of liver disease, bleeding, dehydration, or malabsorption
  2. Laboratory investigations
    • Blood tests: CBC, inflammatory markers, electrolytes, liver function tests, pancreatic enzymes, coagulation profile
    • Stool tests: occult blood, microscopy, culture, fecal calprotectin, fecal fat
    • Tests for Helicobacter pylori, viral hepatitis, celiac disease, and tumor markers when indicated
  3. Endoscopic investigations
    • Upper GI endoscopy, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, capsule endoscopy
    • Biopsy and histopathology
  4. Imaging
    • Plain abdominal radiograph
    • Ultrasonography and Doppler
    • CT, MRI/MRCP, CT colonography
    • Contrast studies such as barium swallow, meal, follow-through, and enema
  5. Functional and specialized tests
    • Esophageal pH monitoring and manometry
    • Gastric emptying studies
    • Breath tests
    • ERCP, endoscopic ultrasound, and nuclear medicine studies
In practice, selection is symptom-directed: for example, liver disease usually starts with liver biochemistry and ultrasound; GI bleeding often requires CBC plus endoscopy; suspected inflammatory bowel disease uses stool inflammatory markers, colonoscopy with biopsies, and cross-sectional imaging.
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