This can involve one or more drugs, and treatment could take a few weeks. Regardless of the cause, doctors are likely to recommend prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to reduce acid production in the stomach and promote healing.

The signs and symptoms of duodenitis can be constant or sporadic, and the disease course varies among individuals. If H pylori is the cause, your symptoms will remain as long as the infection is untreated.

Recovery and follow-up. With treatment, most cases of duodenitis clear up completely. In rare cases, duodenitis can be an ongoing (chronic) problem or can develop into a duodenal ulcer. If your symptoms do not improve or if they go away and come back, let your healthcare provider know.

Eat a variety of healthy foods. Examples include fruits (not citrus), vegetables, low-fat dairy products, beans, whole-grain breads, and lean meats and fish. Try to eat small meals, and drink water with your meals. Do not eat for at least 3 hours before you go to bed.

How is duodenitis treated? Your symptoms may go away without treatment. You may need treatment if your symptoms are severe or become chronic.

A duodenal ulcer is usually caused by an infection with a germ (bacterium) called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). A 4- to 8-week course of acid-suppressing medication will allow the ulcer to heal. In addition, a one-week course of two antibiotics plus an acid-suppressing medicine will usually clear the H.

The duodenum is a 20-30 cm C-shaped hollow viscus predominantly on the right side of the vertebral column. It lies at the level of L1-3 and the convexity of the duodenum (called the duodenal sweep by radiologists) usually encompasses the head of the pancreas.

Their symptoms, such as belly pain, may come and go. Even without treatment, some ulcers will heal by themselves. And even with treatment, ulcers sometimes come back. Certain factors such as cigarette smoking and continued use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increase the risk of ulcers coming back.

The venous drainage of the duodenum follows the arteries. Ultimately these veins drain into the portal system, either directly or indirectly through the splenic or superior mesenteric vein and then to portal vein .

Both gastritis and duodenitis can affect people of all ages at any time. Either condition may be acute or chronic. An acute case of gastritis or duodenitis comes on quickly and lasts for a short period before going away.

A diagnosis of apparent duodenitis should be confirmed by the histological criteria described. Treatment at present is similar to that of peptic ulcer, with the withdrawal of any predisposing and precipitating factors such as aspirin, alcohol and smoking.

It is not yet known what effect these measures may have on the duodenitis as opposed to the symptoms of dyspepsia. The H2-receptor antagonist, cimetidine, should be effective in treating duodenitis but double blind clinical and endoscopic studies are required to confirm this.

However, the evidence suggests that duodenitis is a clinical entity which can give rise to dyspepsia and, on rare occasions, gastrointestinal haemorrhage. Conventional and double contrast radiology has only a small part to play in the diagnosis of duodenitis but is important in helping to exclude other lesions such as duodenal ulcer.