Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Entero-enteral fistula; Enterocutaneous fistula; Fistula - gastrointestinal
Symptoms
Depending on the part of the intestines that are leaking, gastrointestinal fistulas may cause
- Entero-enteral fistulas may have no symptoms.
- Enterocutaneous fistulas cause leakage of intestinal contents through an opening in the skin.
Signs and tests
-
Barium swallow (to identify a gastrointestinal fistula) -
Barium enema (to identify a fistula involving the colon) -
CT scan of the abdomen (to identify fistulas between loops of the intestines or an area of infection, called an abscess, associated with the fistula) - Fistulogram (involves injecting contrast dye into the opening of the skin of an enterocutaneous fistula and then taking x-rays)
Images
Digestive system organs
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Gastrointestinal fistula Treatment
Review Date: 05/04/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of
Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San
Diego, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director,
A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
