Stomach perforation is considered to be a medical emergency and may be seen after peptic ulcer, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, complications from surgery or malignant diseases, and foreign body injury. Abdominal pain and an epigastric sensation are notable symptoms, while some individuals have a completely asymptomatic course. The diagnosis rests on findings obtained during history taking and imaging studies, with computed tomography being the gold standard.
Presentation
Stomach perforation can be life-threatening if not recognized on time, and various causes have been described in the literature [1]. Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) and perforation, long-term administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), malignancies involving the gastrointestinal system (GI), medical procedures (eg. intubation, GI surgery), and ingestion of foreign bodies (toothpicks, metal coins, etc.), either incidental or intentional, are notable etiologies of stomach perforation [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]. In addition, incarcerated hiatal hernia is also reported as a condition that may lead to perforation [8]. The clinical presentation is often nonspecific, with most common symptoms being abdominal distension and pain accompanied by an abnormal sensation in the epigastric area and reduced appetite [3]. Signs of peritonitis might be seen as well [9]. Perforation caused by foreign bodies tend to have a chronic course, and days or weeks often pass before the diagnosis is made [3] [9]. On the other hand, severe forms have an abrupt onset, in which case a prompt diagnosis is imperative. Unfortunately, some patients may have an asymptomatic presentation, thus the diagnosis might be delayed for a significant period of time [9].
Entire Body System
- Fever
Speak to a doctor if you experience any significant change from your normal state, especially if you have abdominal pain and fever. [healthline.com]
After a period of seven days the patient was readmitted to the PICU, with signs and symptoms of acute abdomen: severe epigastric pain whose intensity increased with the change of position, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills. [cejpaediatrics.com]
A perforation may also occur in the gallbladder, and symptoms include severe stomach pain, vomiting, and fever. [sheknows.com]
A 41-year-old man presented weight loss, low grade fever, and vomiting. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a large ulcer on the antrum of the stomach. [jstage.jst.go.jp]
You have a fever. You have frequent episodes of nausea and vomiting. Care Agreement You have the right to help plan your care. Learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. [drugs.com]
- Sepsis
Sepsis If left untreated (hours or days), perforation can lead to Sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of the infection process. [cuthbertlaw.com]
[…] entire body If either peritonitis or sepsis is suspected, then immediate medical attention must be sought. [dovemed.com]
Body-wide infection is called sepsis. Sepsis can be very serious and can lead to death. [medlineplus.gov]
Factors that increase the risk of this include: malnutrition, or poor diet smoking excessive alcohol use drug abuse poor hygiene sepsis uremia, which is an illness caused by kidney failure obesity hematoma, which occurs when blood collects outside the [healthline.com]
- Weight Loss
April 15, 2016 Weight loss procedures help patients get a significant amount of weight off. Patients have improvements in mobility and co-morbid conditions such as sleep apnea, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and joint pain. [obesityhelp.com]
She underwent a 2-hour, elective, LAP-band insertion operation to achieve weight loss; 27 hours after band insertion, following the conduction of all FDA-mandated Lap-Band postoperative protocol (including a radiologic Gastrogrografin swallow), the patient [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
A 41-year-old man presented weight loss, low grade fever, and vomiting. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a large ulcer on the antrum of the stomach. [jstage.jst.go.jp]
You should see a doctor if you have any of the following: Blood when you have a bowel movement Severe abdominal pain Heartburn not relieved by antacids Unintended weight loss Ongoing vomiting or diarrhea NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive [icdlist.com]
- Weakness
[…] the all the warning signs of peritonitis- her stomach was severely painful to the touch, she was complaining of 10/10 pain, she had not had a bowel movement for 5 days (despite being given 4 different constipation medications), her urine output was weak [cuthbertlaw.com]
- Turkish
Total number of language pairs : 472 Total number of translations : 14 New : Korean Turkish, Serbian Albanian, Dutch German, Latvian Russian Improved : English Albanian, English Serbian, English Croatian, Croatian Polish Options There are several ways [eudict.com]
Gastrointestinal
- Vomiting
Symptoms can include: repeated episodes of vomiting, with large amounts of vomit that contain undigested food a persistent feeling of bloating or fullness feeling very full after eating less food than usual unexplained weight loss An endoscopy can be [nhs.uk]
Symptoms may include: Severe abdominal pain Chills Fever Nausea Vomiting Shock X-rays of the chest or abdomen may show air in the abdominal cavity. This is called free air. It is a sign of a tear. [medlineplus.gov]
After a period of seven days the patient was readmitted to the PICU, with signs and symptoms of acute abdomen: severe epigastric pain whose intensity increased with the change of position, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills. [cejpaediatrics.com]
A perforation may also occur in the gallbladder, and symptoms include severe stomach pain, vomiting, and fever. [sheknows.com]
A 41-year-old man presented weight loss, low grade fever, and vomiting. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a large ulcer on the antrum of the stomach. [jstage.jst.go.jp]
- Nausea
After a period of seven days the patient was readmitted to the PICU, with signs and symptoms of acute abdomen: severe epigastric pain whose intensity increased with the change of position, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills. [cejpaediatrics.com]
You have frequent episodes of nausea and vomiting. Care Agreement You have the right to help plan your care. Learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. [drugs.com]
Symptoms may include: Severe abdominal pain Chills Fever Nausea Vomiting Shock X-rays of the chest or abdomen may show air in the abdominal cavity. This is called free air. It is a sign of a tear. [medlineplus.gov]
For several days after the surgery, the patient was unable to move his bowels and had significant abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and lethargy. [theexpertinstitute.com]
- Acute Abdomen
After a period of seven days the patient was readmitted to the PICU, with signs and symptoms of acute abdomen: severe epigastric pain whose intensity increased with the change of position, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills. [cejpaediatrics.com]
Diagnosis of an acute abdomen can often be made on clinical grounds and an emergency operation performed. Posterior perforation of gastric ulcer is a unique category of peptic ulcer perforations with a distinct clinical presentation (1). [pdfs.semanticscholar.org]
Investigations Laboratory Tests Any patient with an acute abdomen will require routine baseline blood tests, including G&S. [teachmesurgery.com]
Some Causes of GI Tract Perforation Symptoms and Signs Esophageal, gastric, and duodenal perforation tends to manifest suddenly and catastrophically, with abrupt onset of acute abdomen with severe generalized abdominal pain, tenderness, and peritoneal [merckmanuals.com]
Acute abdomen. In: Townsend CM Jr, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 20th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2017:chap 45. Wagner JP, Chen DC, Barie PS, Hiatt JR. Peritonitis and intraabdominal infection. [medlineplus.gov]
- Abdominal Distension
The clinical presentation is often nonspecific, with most common symptoms being abdominal distension and pain accompanied by an abnormal sensation in the epigastric area and reduced appetite. Signs of peritonitis might be seen as well. [symptoma.com]
Abdominal distension can be striking and infants may also develop rapidly progressive pneumoperitoneum with associated cardiopulmonary compromise. [ijcasereportsandimages.com]
Sudden abdominal distension and respiratory distress have been reported as predominant symptoms (1,5). [ispub.com]
distension, feeding intolerance, respiratory distress, or poor activity. 3 The most common radiographic finding in gastric perforation is pneumoperitoneum, which in this case is obvious on the KUB, and significant enough to cause elevation of the diaphragms [nature.com]
She had abdominal distension, respiratory distress, cyanosis and hypoxaemia; assisted ventilation was applied. We performed an abdominal radiograph which confirmed the presence of massive pneumoperitoneum. [afrjpaedsurg.org]
- Hematemesis
Symptoms of a gastrointestinal ulceration can be abdominal pain, hematemesis, melena, weight loss. Rarely, an ulcer can lead to a gastric or duodenal perforation. [akspublication.com]
Gastrointestinal perforation results in severe abdominal pain intensified by movement, nausea, vomiting and hematemesis. Later symptoms include fever and or chills. [6] In any case, the abdomen becomes rigid with tenderness and rebound tenderness. [en.wikipedia.org]
Cardiovascular
- Chest Pain
The symptoms of esophageal rupture may include sudden onset of chest pain. [en.wikipedia.org]
Thoracic Any thoracic region perforation will present with pain, ranging from chest pain or neck pain to pain radiating to the back or pain on inspiration. [teachmesurgery.com]
Workup
Because of the nonspecific presentation of gastric perforation, many studies have stressed the importance of a proper physical examination and a detailed patient history [3] [7]. Patients should be asked about the duration of symptoms and the nature of their onset, whereas assessment of risk factors (underlying malignant disease or peptic ulcer, use of NSAIDs, recent upper gastrointestinal tract instrumentation or ingestion of foreign bodies) is also vital during clinical assessment. Once a presumptive diagnosis of an upper GI pathology is made, imaging studies are the next step of the diagnostic workup. Barium studies are not recommended in the setting of gastrointestinal perforation, but plain radiography of the chest and abdomen (lateral images are superior to posteroanterior) can be a useful initial method that is able to detect free air under the diaphragm in up to 75% of cases [6] [10]. However, contrast-enhanced CT, considered as the gold standard [10], is employed in the presence of inconclusive findings on abdominal X-rays. Typical signs are defects in the stomach wall and the presence of gas in the supramesocolic compartment (the space over the transverse mesocolon in the peritoneum) [10]. Abdominal ultrasonography has also been described as a useful tool in the evaluation of gastric perforation [6]. Finally, a biopsy of the lesion at the site of perforation, especially if suspicion toward a malignancy exists, might be performed [11], primarily through endoscopic techniques.
Microbiology
- Helicobacter Pylori
In our case, histopathologic findings and cultures were negative for Helicobacter pylori. [bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com]
It is now known that a bacterium known as Helicobacter Pylori or overuse of common medications like over the counter pain relievers are the most ordinary causes of peptic ulcers. [stomachbloating.net]
You may get an ulcer when: You have bacteria called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). These bacteria are the most common cause of ulcers. When H. pylori bacteria infect the stomach or intestine, the infection can weaken the lining of these organs. [summitmedicalgroup.com]
Helicobacter pylori ( H.pylori ) infection and prolonged use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are the leading causes of peptic ulcers. [healthhype.com]
It is often associated with helicobacter pylori infection or consumption of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsaids). [icd10data.com]
Treatment
Patients usually present with atypical symptoms, and the treatment of such pyogenic liver abscesses presents a challenge. Here we report a case of hepatic abscess secondary to stomach perforation by a fish bone. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
Despite the best available treatments, leaks can be hard to treat and frequently multiple modalities are necessary. [obesityhelp.com]
And, delaying treatment can increase the risk of serious complications and even death. [stomachbloating.net]
The chances of recovery improve with early diagnosis and treatment. [healthline.com]
You may need emergency treatment or surgery. [beta.nhs.uk]
Prognosis
The prognosis of DLBCL patients with GI involvement was retrospectively investigated regarding treatments. [bloodjournal.org]
CONCLUSION: Gastric cancer perforation is rare and of bad prognosis as it survives on advanced cancer. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
DISCUSSION Neonatal gastric perforation is extremely rare and associated with poor prognosis [1] [2] [4]. Various theories have been proposed describing the etiology and prognosis but it still remains obscure [1] [2] [3] [5]. [ijcasereportsandimages.com]
Prognosis A GI perforation is a medical emergency and requires quick recognition of the signs and symptoms, and rapid medical response. When this occurs, recovery should be complete. [sepsis.org]
Etiology
[…] anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), malignancies involving the gastrointestinal system (GI), medical procedures (eg. intubation, GI surgery), and ingestion of foreign bodies (toothpicks, metal coins, etc.), either incidental or intentional, are notable etiologies [symptoma.com]
ABSTRACT Introduction : Gastric perforation in neonates is a rare surgical emergency of uncertain etiology. [ijcasereportsandimages.com]
Etiologies include gastrogastric fistula, excessively large gastric pouch containing antral mucosa, H pylori infection, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use, and smoking [1, 2]. [websurg.com]
Kneiszi F: Some data on the etiology of gastric rupture in the newborn, Biol Neonate; 1962; 4: 201-222. 11. Lloyd JR: The etiology of gastrointestinal perforations in the newborn. J Pediatr Surg; 1969; 4: 77-84. 12. [ispub.com]
Epidemiology
An Atlas of Operative Laparoscopy and Hysteroscopy, Second Edition is not just a how-to-do-the-surgery book, but also a guide to the pathogenesis, pathophysiology, and epidemiology of the urogynecological area. [books.google.com]
Time-trends in the epidemiology of peptic ulcer bleeding. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2005; 40 :914–20. 3. Sharma SS, Mamtani MR, Sharma MS, Kulkarni H. [tropicalgastro.com]
Systematic review of the epidemiology of complicated peptic ulcer disease: incidence, recurrence, risk factors and mortality. Digestion 2011; 84:102-113. 4. Williams N, Bullstrode C, Connell RO. [ejs.eg.net]
The Zidovudine Epidemiology Study Group. J Infect Dis. 1992, 166: 1223-1227. [bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com]
Pathophysiology
An Atlas of Operative Laparoscopy and Hysteroscopy, Second Edition is not just a how-to-do-the-surgery book, but also a guide to the pathogenesis, pathophysiology, and epidemiology of the urogynecological area. [books.google.com]
The possible reasons for the high mortality and morbidity rates at that time may have been related to the following factors: Knowledge in the area of bowel injuries and the pathophysiologic changes triggered by such injuries was inadequate Clinical skills [emedicine.medscape.com]
Neonatalogy: Pathophysiology and Management of the Newborn. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 1999. p. 1022–1023. 3 Chung MT, Kuo CY, Wang JW, Hsieh WS, Huang CB, Lin JN. [nature.com]
Prevention
Prevent Risks of a Leak/Perforation In the first few weeks after surgery, don’t gulp, don’t overeat, and follow the rules your surgical team has set out for you. Prevention of a leak may, at best, be minimizing risky or unpredictable behaviors. [obesityhelp.com]
Onset of symptoms that are characteristic of a perforated gastric ulcer should therefore be addressed immediately to prevent the situation from becoming increasingly dangerous. [stomachbloating.net]
Preventing stomach ulcers To help prevent stomach ulcers or stop them coming back: Do regularly wash your hands with soap and water - to reduce the chance of bacterial infections only take ibuprofen, aspirin and other NSAIDs when you need them follow [beta.nhs.uk]
Contained perforation occurs when a full-thickness hole is created by an ulcer, but free spillage is prevented because contiguous organs wall off the area (as occurs, for example, when a duodenal ulcer penetrates into the pancreas). [slideshare.net]
References
- Daliya P, White T, Makhdoomi K. Gastric perforation in an adult male following nasogastric intubation. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2012;94(7):e210-e212.
- Mahar AL, Brar SS, Coburn NG, Law C, Helyer LK. Surgical management of gastric perforation in the setting of gastric cancer. Gastric Cancer. 2012;15 (1):S146-152.
- Avila Alvarez AA, Parra JF, Buitrago DA, Rodriguez F, Moreno A. Gastric Perforation and Phlegmon Formation by Foreign BodyIngestion. Emerg (Tehran). 2014;2(3):141-143.
- Rao VSR, Sarkar R, Turner R, Wedgwood KR. Unusual Presentation of Gastric Perforation by Foreign Body: A Case Report. Case Rep Surg. 2011;2011:509806.
- Steenvoorde P, Moues CM, Viersma JH. Gastric perforation due to the ingestion of a hollow toothpick: report of a case. Surg Today. 2002;32(8):731–733
- Coppolino F, Gatta G, Di Grezia G, et al. Gastrointestinal perforation: ultrasonographic diagnosis. Crit Ultrasound J. 2013;5(1):S4.
- Di Saverio S, Bassi M, Smerieri N, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of perforated or bleeding peptic ulcers: 2013 WSES position paper. World J Emerg Surg. 2014;9:45.
- Trainor D, Duffy M, Kennedy A, Glover P, Mullan B. Gastric perforation secondary to incarcerated hiatus hernia: an important differential in the diagnosis of central crushing chest pain. Emerg Med J. 2007;24(8):603-604.
- Mehran A, Podkameni D, Rosenthal R, Szomstein S. Gastric Perforation Secondary to Ingestion of a Sharp Foreign Body. JSLS. 2005;9(1):91-93.
- Singh J, Steward M, Booth T, Mukhtar H, Murray D. Evolution of imaging for abdominal perforation. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2010;92(3):182-188.
- Roviello F, Rossi S, Marrelli D, et al. Perforated gastric carcinoma: a report of 10 cases and review of the literature. World J Surg Oncol. 2006;4:19.