Hematemesis due to prolapse gastropathy: an emetogenic injury

A Case of Prolapsed Gastropathy Syndrome Presenting as Hematemesis and Acute Blood Loss Anemia

A 45-year-old male with hypertension and alcohol use disorder presented to the hospital after being found intoxicated, with bright red blood in the toilet and around his mouth. He was found to be tachycardiac and required intubation due to his inebriated state to establish a secure airway. Initial workup revealed a hemoglobin decrease from 16.7 g/dL to 8.7 g/dL, as well as lactic acidosis. He quickly underwent an upper endoscopy to evaluate his source of hematemesis. An actively bleeding lesion was found in the proximal stomach consistent with prolapse gastropathy syndrome. This case highlights a unique presentation of hematemesis that requires endoscopic evaluation for both diagnosis and treatment.

Gastric mucosal prolapse: A case of proton-pump inhibitor nonresponsive dyspepsia

Gastric mucosal prolapse (GMP) is a rare clinical syndrome that in patients with hiatal hernias and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may present with typical findings of abdominal pain and reflux symptoms but prove resistant to medical therapy. Physicians should therefore be aware and consider GMP as a differential in such patients in order to make an accurate diagnosis and provide timely treatment.

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding in children: an 11-year retrospective endoscopic investigation

BACKGROUND

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) may present as hematemesis, coffee-ground emesis, or melena requiring esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for diagnosis and/or therapy. Worldwide, differences exist for the etiology of UGIB reflecting geographical differences in common disease states. In the past 25 years, there have been improvements in endoscopic optics. This study was undertaken to determine: 1) if identifying a bleeding source in UGIB have improved with better endoscopic optics, 2) geographic differences in causes of UGIB, 3) differences in severity of UGIB based on clinical factors, and 4) the likelihood of finding a bleeding source based on symptom duration and time to endoscopy.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was made on children having EGD for evaluation of UGIB. Data collected included type, etiology, and degree of bleeding.

RESULTS

Of 2569 diagnostic procedures, 167 (6.5%) were performed for UGIB. The most common presentation was hematemesis (73.4%). Melena was associated with lower hemoglobin levels and higher transfusion rates. A source of UGIB was found in 57.0%, no cause in 11.4% and a questionable cause in 29.7%. A source was found less commonly in children with a history of UGIB less than one month and in those undergoing endoscopy over 48 hours after a bleeding episode.

CONCLUSIONS

Improved endoscopic optics has not changed diagnostic ability for UGIB. Etiologic differences for UGIB in children from varying geographic areas are related to indication for endoscopy, patient selection, and co-morbid conditions. Duration of bleeding and time to endoscopy after a bleeding episode may help predict when endoscopy should be performed to determine a bleeding source.

Prolapse gastropathy syndrome may be a predictor of pathologic acid reflux

AIM: To assess the occurrence of gastric acid reflux into the esophagus in endoscopically confirmed prolapse gastropathy syndrome (PGS).

METHODS: Using ambulatory esophageal pH measurement (BRAVO^TM wireless esophageal pH monitoring system), twenty-six patients with PGS were compared with twenty-one patients with erosive esophagitis (EE) as controls. We assessed several reflux parameters, including the percentage of total time at pH < 4, and the DeMeester score.

RESULTS: There were no statistical differences between the PGS group and the EE group as to mean age, sex ratio and pH recording time. The EE group showed more severe reflux than the PGS group, as evaluated in terms of the longest duration of reflux, the number of reflux episodes, the number of reflux episodes lasting > 5 min, the total time with pH < 4 during acid reflux episodes, and the DeMeester score, but none of these parameters showed statistically significant difference. Although 53.8% (14/26) of the PGS group and 76.2% (16/21) of the EE group demonstrated pathologic acid reflux (DeMeester score > 14.72), there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the incidence of pathologic acid reflux (P = 0.11).

CONCLUSION: There was no statistically significant difference in pathologic acid reflux between the PGS and EE group. These data suggest that endoscopically diagnosed PGS might be a predictor of pathologic acid reflux.

Peptic ulcer disease in children

A peptic ulcer in a child looks the same as it does in an adult, and many of the aetiologies of peptic ulcer disease in children are similar to those in adults. However, there are many differences between children and adults, especially in the areas of clinical presentation, the prevalences of different types of ulcer disease, and the prevalence of complications of ulcer disease. Therefore the approach to diagnosis and management in children is often at variance with that in adults. One important example is the approach to suspected Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) disease in children, in which consensus groups have advised a considerably different approach in children. While the chapter deals with the full range of peptic ulcer disease in children, the focus is on those aspects in which there are differences between adults and children.