The 5 differences between gastritis and gastroenteritis

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines this concept as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, associated with actual or potential tissue damage. From a medical point of view, it corresponds to a series of neurophysiological variations in our body and increased activity in the adrenal, pituitary, pancreas and other glands structures.

For its part, gut pain (better said, abdominal pain) is a sensation that we have all experienced at some point in our life, since the digestive system is open and, therefore, it is relatively exposed to mechanical stressors (such as swallowing an object), poisonings and invasions by pathogens (amoebae, helminths, viruses, bacteria, etc.). Thus, abdominal pain is estimated to account for nearly 6% of all emergency room visits.

Interestingly, more than 30% of cases of abdominal or gut pain are classified as "non-specific" (NSAP), or what is the same, they do not have a specific cause. On the other hand, others are due to renal colic, gastritis, gastroenteritis, ulcers, somatizations of psychological disorders, cancers and many other things.

Based on all these premises, today we help you get to know your body and sensations a little better: here you go the differences between gastritis and gastroenteritis.

• Related article: "The 5 most common stomach diseases: types, causes and symptoms"

What are the main differences between gastroenteritis and gastritis?

In general, both terms are used interchangeably. When a person consumes a bad food and develops acute diarrhea, fever and tremors, they tell the doctor that you suspect gastritis or gastroenteritis, although in reality both entities are different. Next, we break down their differences.

1. Gastritis occurs in the stomach, but gastroenteritis spreads to the intestine

It may sound very obvious, but the main differential between the two conditions is in its own name. As the term indicates, gastritis refers to acute or chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa. There is no doubt, therefore, that this clinical entity is confined to the environment of the stomach.

On the other hand, gastroenteritis refers to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, which includes the stomach (gastro) and small intestine (entire). Although this distinction seems very subtle, in the following lines you will see that the symptoms vary significantly from one box to another.

• You may be interested in: "The 7 parts of the intestine: characteristics and functions"

2. The infectious agents that cause gastritis and gastroenteritis are very different

The stomach has a pH of 1.0 to 3.0, while in the small intestine, this value increases to a range of 5.0 to 7.0. In an environment as acidic as the gastric cavity, compatibility with life is practically impossible. Only a pathogenic bacteria can withstand these inclement conditions: Helicobacter pylori.

It is estimated that ⅔ of the population are infected by this bacterium, which with its spiral shape and its flagellum, is capable of piercing the gastric mucosa and slowly but constantly damaging the epithelium of stomach. For this reason, this microorganism has been associated with various pathologies at the gastric level.

70% of infections by H. pylori are asymptomatic, but the remaining 30% of affected individuals develop gastritis symptoms, which in turn can be accompanied by peptic ulcers and even stomach cancer. Without going any further, it is estimated that people with this bacteria in their stomach are twice as likely to develop an ulcer throughout their lives, compared to those who do not.

On the other hand, the intestine is a much more "friendly" environment, and living proof of this is the multitude of bacterial species that are part of our intestinal microbiota. Bacteria of the genus Campylobacter and viruses such as norovirus and rotavirus are capable of invading this sector of the digestive tract and causing symptoms.

3. The symptoms of both entities are very different

The most common symptom of gastritis is pain or burning (indigestion) in the upper abdomen., specifically in an area known as the "epigastrium." Because the pain is confined to the environment of the stomach, other common symptoms can be the nausea, vomiting, feeling full before finishing eating, weight loss, and other events clinical

On the other hand, the flagship symptom of gastroenteritis is diarrhea. Under normal conditions, the absorption of nutrients and fluids in the intestine (99% of the water that enters) It is much more than the discharge, hence the stool is usually compact, hard and relatively dry.

To give you an idea, every day 9 liters of water enter the intestine, but only 100 milliliters are expelled with the stool. Unfortunately, when pathogens damage the intestinal mucosa, this balance is lost.

If there are changes in the bidirectional intestinal lumen-tissue balance (if there is a higher rate of absorption or secretion), the volume of fluid reaching the colon exceeds its absorptive capacity and diarrhea occurs, for all known. This can present with blood, mucus and even purulent substances, depending on the underlying disease that is causing the picture.

• You may be interested in: "Nerves in the stomach: what are they, symptoms, and how to control them"

4. Different epidemiological patterns

Depending on where we put the focus of attention, it can be stipulated that gastritis is more common than gastroenteritis or vice versa. It is estimated that 25% of the world population has symptoms of gastritis at any given time and 90% of the conditions are caused by infection of Helicobacter pylori. We remember that this bacterium is installed in the stomach of ⅔ of the population (much more if we look at certain regions), hence gastritis is so common.

However, the pictures of gastroenteritis do not fall short. Diarrheal diseases at the intestinal level (caused by bacteria, amoebae and viruses) are the second cause of death in children under 5 years of age, especially in low-income countries where the health infrastructure shines for its absence. Every year 1.7 billion cases of diarrheal diseases are diagnosed in infants, of which 525,000 end in death.

5. Complications are different in each case

In general, gastritis is conceived as a less serious clinical entity, as its impact is more notable in high-income countries. If left untreated, gastritis can lead to stomach ulcers and bleeding, but the onset of these consequences is slow and rarely achieved. In addition, in the most serious spectra (peptic ulcer), there are also surgical treatments and antibiotics that successfully reverse the situation.

Again, symptoms of gastroenteritis derived from viral agents or amoebae report a much worse prognosis, more because of the places where they are more prevalent than because of their pathogenesis per se. For example, persistent diarrhea (longer than 14 days) without proper medical attention can turn into severe dehydration.

This extreme situation occurs in the patient with sunken eyes, lethargy and loss of consciousness, dizziness and lightheadedness, constipation, dry skin and other general signs. Severe dehydration resulting in a 10% loss of the patient's body weight usually results in death, unless there is a admission and an administration of intravenous serum, which also seeks to restore the electrolyte balance that has been lost during diarrhea.

Resume

After this extensive tour of both clinical entities, it is more than clear to us that gastritis and gastroenteritis are not the same nor can they be used as interchangeable terms.

Gastritis usually manifests with abdominal discomfort in the pit of the stomach (epigastrium), whereas gastroenteritis is locates "lower" (at the intestinal level), with clear symptoms such as watery diarrhea and low-grade fever (in the case of infection viral).

The main cause of gastritis is bacteria Helicobacter pylori, the only microorganism that has adapted to live in our gastric environment. On the other hand, gastroenteritis is usually caused by amoebae, viruses, bacteria and even more complex parasites, such as various helminths (ascaris and tapeworms, for example). In addition, despite the fact that gastritis is more common at a general level, gastroenteritis has a worse prognosis, because they are typical of low-income regions with sanitary conditions deficient.