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Achlorhydria | |
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Other names | Hypochlorhydria |
Hydrogen chloride (major component of gastric acid) | |
Pronunciation | |
Specialty | Internal medicine |
Symptoms | Most of the time none, but may cause and not limited to, heartburn, stomach pain, and early satiety |
Complications | Anemia, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth |
Causes | Pernicious anemia, helicobacter pylori infection, hypothyroidism, stomach surgery, nutritional deficiencies, and long term use of medications to treat heartburn |
Achlorhydria and hypochlorhydria refer to states where the production of hydrochloric acid in gastric secretions of the stomach and other digestive organs is absent or low, respectively.[1] It is associated with various other medical problems.