Gastric contents

Chemistry of Tissues. 3. Blood Group Substances from Human Gastric Contents, H. G. Bray, H. Henry, and M. Stacey, Biochem. J., 40 (1946) 130-134. 

In discovery the most common base salt is the HCl salt. It is common in biology to use buffers containing chloride and the chloride content of the gastric contents is about 0.15 M. It often happens that the common ion effect of chloride suppresses the solubility of an HCl salt. This is a 100% solvable problem in pharmaceutical sciences. 

Strategies to Minimize Aspiration of Gastric Contents during Enteral Nutrition... 

Peppermint oil is widely advocated it acts as an antispas-modic agent due to its ability to relax gastrointestinal smooth muscle. However, it also relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter, which could allow reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. The usual dose is 1 to 2 enteric-coated capsules containing 0.2 mL of peppermint oil two to three times daily. 

At blood levels from 0.4g%-0.6g% (86.8 to 130.2 mmol/L) alcoholic coma often occurs, accompanied by decreased respiration, blood pressure, and body temperature Blood levels between 0.6 g% and 0.8 g% (130.2 to 173.6 mmol/L) are often fatal resulting from respiratory arrest, aspiration of gastric contents, or airway obstruction due to flaccid tongue... 

Pneumonia owing to aspiration of oral contents is caused by a variety of anaerobes (Bacteroides spp., Fusobacterium spp., Prevotella spp., and anaerobic gram-positive cocci), as well as Streptococcus spp. M. catarrhalis and Eikenella corrodens may be involved, but much less frequently.14,15 When gastric contents are aspirated, then enteric gram-negative bacilli and Staphylococcus aureus are more commonly the pathogens.15... 

Aspiration of the oropharyngeal or gastric contents may lead to aspiration pneumonia or chemical (acid) pneumonitis. Risk factors for aspiration include... 

Gastroesophageal reflux disease Symptoms or mucosal damage that result from abnormal reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. 

The key factor in the development of GERD is the abnormal reflux of gastric contents from the stomach into the esophagus. 

Hospital staff working in an enclosed area can be secondarily contaminated by cyanide vapor off-gassing from heavily soaked clothing or skin, or from toxic vomit. Avoid dermal contact with cyanide-contaminated victims or with gastric contents of persons who may have ingested cyanide-containing materials (patients do not usually pose secondary contamination risks after contaminated clothing is removed and the skin is washed. 

The ion-trapping mechanism provides a method of some forensic value for detecting the presence of alkaloids (e.g., narcotics, cocaine, amphetamines) in cases of death suspected to be due to overdosage of self-administered drugs. Drug concentrations in gastric contents may be very high even after parenteral injection. 

Rate of dissolution in gastrointestinal fluids. Chemicals that are inadequately dissolved in gastric contents may be inadequately absorbed. 

Figure 2 Magnetic resonance image showing the semisolid fraction of a sandwich-based meal lying in the stomach. A small capsule given soon after the meal floats on the liquid above the solid mass, becoming stuck in the gastric rugae in the body of the stomach or floats off ahead of the bulk of the gastric contents.

Fig. 7.8. Isobutane Cl mass spectrum of gastric contents in an overdose case. Reproduced from Ref. [29] by permission. American Chemical Society, 1970.

In the stomach, pepsin and related enzymes initiate the enzymatic digestion of proteins, which takes 1-3 hours. The acidic gastric contents are then released into the duodenum in batches, where they are neutralized by alkaline pancreatic secretions and mixed with cystic bile. 

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