Mallory-Weiss syndrome in four hemodialysis patients: a case study

BACKGROUND

Hemodialysis patients are prone to gastrointestinal bleeding, and Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS) is one of the causes. Mallory-Weiss syndrome is often induced by severe vomiting, manifests as upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and is self-limited with a good prognosis. However, mild vomiting in hemodialysis patients can lead to the occurrence of MWS, and the mild early symptoms are easy to misdiagnose, leading to the aggravation of the disease.

CASE PRESENTATION

In this paper, we report four hemodialysis patients with MWS. All patients displayed symptoms of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The diagnosis of MWS was confirmed by gastroscopy. One patient had a history of severe vomiting; however, the other three reported histories of mild vomiting. Three patients received the conservative hemostasis treatment, and the gastrointestinal bleeding stopped. One patient underwent the gastroscopic and interventional hemostasis treatments. The conditions of three of the patients improved. Unfortunately, one of the patients died due to the cardia insufficiency.

CONCLUSIONS

We think that the mild symptoms of MWS are easily covered up by other symptoms. This may lead to delays in diagnosis and treatment. For patients with severe symptoms, gastroscopic hemostasis is still the first choice, and interventional hemostasis can also be considered. For patients with mild symptoms, drug hemostasis is the first consideration.

Mallory-Weiss syndrome from giant gastric trichobezoar: A case report

BACKGROUND

Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS), representing a linear mucosal laceration at the gastroesophageal junction, is a quite frequent cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, usually induced by habitual vomiting. The subsequent cardiac ulceration in this condition is likely due to the concomitance of increased intragastric pressure and inappropriate closure of the gastroesophageal sphincter, collectively inducing ischemic mucosal damage. Usually, MWS is associated with all vomiting conditions, but it has also been described as a complication of prolonged endoscopic procedures or ingested foreign bodies.

CASE SUMMARY

We described herein a case of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in a 16-year-old girl with MWS and chronic psychiatric distress, the latter of which deteriorated following her parents’ divorce. The patient, who was residing on a small island during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic lockdown period, presented with a 2-mo history of habitual vomiting, hematemesis, and a slight depressive mood. Ultimately, a huge intragastric obstructive trichobezoar was detected and discovered to be due to a hidden habit of continuously eating her own hair; this habit had persisted for the past 5 years until a drastic reduction in food intake and corresponding weight loss occurred. The relative isolation in her living status without school attendance had worsened her compulsory habit. The hair agglomeration had reached such enormous dimensions and its firmness was so hard that its potential for endoscopic treatment was judged to be impossible. The patient underwent surgical intervention instead, which culminated in complete removal of the mass.

CONCLUSION

According to our knowledge, this is the first-ever described case of MWS due to an excessively large trichobezoar.

Hemorrhagic shock due to submucosal esophageal hematoma along with mallory-weiss syndrome: A case report

BACKGROUND

Esophageal submucosal hematoma is a rare condition. Although the exact etiology remains uncertain, vessel fragility with external factors is believed to have led to submucosal bleeding and hematoma formation; the vessel was ruptured by a sudden increase in pressure due to nausea, and the hematoma was enlarged by antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy. Serious conditions are rare, with a better prognosis. We present the first known case of submucosal esophageal hematoma-subsequent hemorrhagic shock due to Mallory-Weiss syndrome.

CASE SUMMARY

A 73-year-old female underwent endovascular treatment for an unruptured cerebral aneurysm. The patient received aspirin and clopidogrel before surgery and heparin during surgery, and was well during the surgery. Several hours after returning to the ICU, she complained of chest discomfort, vomited 500 mL of fresh blood, and entered hemorrhagic shock. Esophageal submucosal hematoma with Mallory-Weiss syndrome was diagnosed through an endoscopic examination and computed tomography. In addition to a massive fluid and erythrocyte transfusion, we performed a temporary compression for hemostasis with a Sengstaken-Blakemore (S-B) tube. Afterwards, she became hemodynamically stable. On postoperative day 1, we performed an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and confirmed no expansion of the hematoma nor any recurring bleeding; therefore, we removed the S-B tube and clipped the gastric mucosal laceration at the esophagogastric junction. We started oral intake on postoperative day 10. The patient made steady progress, and was discharged on postoperative day 33.

CONCLUSION

We present the first known case of submucosal esophageal hematoma subsequent hemorrhagic shock due to Mallory-Weiss syndrome.

Treatment of severe upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by Mallory-Weiss syndrome after primary coronary intervention for acute inferior wall myocardial infarction: A case report

BACKGROUND

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is not an uncommon complication. Acute UGIB caused by Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS) is usually a dire situation with massive bleeding and hemodynamic instability. Acute UGIB caused by MWS after an AMI has not been previously reported.

CASE SUMMARY

A 57-year-old man with acute inferior wall ST elevation myocardial infarction underwent a primary coronary intervention of the acutely occluded right coronary artery. Six hours after the intervention, the patient had a severe UGIB, followed by vomiting. His hemoglobin level dropped from 15.3 g/dL to 9.7 g/dL. In addition to blood transfusion and a gastric acid inhibition treatment, early endoscopy was employed and MWS was diagnosed. Bleeding was stopped by endoscopic placement of titanium clips.

CONCLUSION

Bleeding complications after stent implantation can pose a dilemma. MWS is a rare but severe cause of acute UGIB after an AMI that requires an early endoscopic diagnosis and a hemoclip intervention to stop bleeding.

Small-cell lung cancer with Mallory-Weiss syndrome as the prominent manifestation

The presence of Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS) in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is uncommon. MWS is characterized by longitudinal superficial mucosal laceration at the esophagogastric junction and can be caused by a variety of causes, with upper digestive tract hemorrhage as the primary manifestation. SCLC is the most invasive histological subtype of lung cancer, and approximately a quarter of all SCLC patients undergo paraneoplastic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion, such as hyponatremia. In this study, we report a case of MWS in a middle-aged patient who was diagnosed with SCLC associated with hyponatremia. Clinicians should be alerted of the presence of MWS in upper gastrointestinal bleeding, such as epigastric pain, hematemesis, or melena, and keep SCLC in mind as a potential cause for underlying disease identification.

Effective endoscopic treatment of Mallory-Weiss syndrome using Glasgow-Blatchford score and Forrest classification

OBJECTIVES

There is limited data on whether scoring systems can be used to predict clinical outcomes in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS). We aimed to evaluate whether the Glasgow-Blatchford score (GBS) could be effective in predicting clinical outcomes of bleeding MWS and to investigate the predictive ability of the Forrest classification for rebleeding and assess the effective endoscopic modalities for bleeding control in MWS.

METHODS

From January 2004 to December 2012 168 patients were diagnosed with MWS in the Asan Medical Center Emergency Department. We analyzed their clinical outcomes, including endoscopic treatment, transfusion and admission as well as the rates of rebleeding and mortality using GBS and the Forrest classification, retrospectively.

RESULTS

Endoscopic treatment was applied to patients. The GBS was significantly higher in patients treated with endoscopic therapy than in the conservative treatment group (6.8 ± 3.7 vs 5.1 ± 4.7, P = 0.011). In patients with a GBS of >6 the rates of endoscopic treatment and rebleeding and the need for transfusion and admission were significantly higher (all P < 0.05). The Forrest classification was able to predict recurrent bleeding (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.723, 95% confidence interval 0.609-0.836, P = 0.025). Hemoclip-based therapy and band ligation achieved higher success rates than did injection therapy alone in preventing rebleeding (96.4%, 88.9% and 71.4%, P = 0.013).

CONCLUSION

In MWS, GBS might be useful for predicting clinical outcomes and the Forrest classification in predicting recurrent bleeding.

Clinical efficacy of endoscopic hemoclips for treatment of Mallory-Weiss syndrome

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic hemoclips in the treatment of Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS).

METHODS: One hundred and eleven MWS patients were randomly divided into either an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group (52 patients) was treated with endoscopic hemoclips and proton pump inhibitor, and the control group (59 patients) was treated with proton pump inhibitor alone. The differences in hemostatic effect and rebleeding between the two groups were evaluated.

RESULTS: Effective hemostatic rate was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (96.15% vs 84.75%, P < 0.05). Rebleeding rate was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group (3.85% vs 15.25%, P < 0.05). Re-bleeding in all the patients was successfully stopped by interventional therapy.

CONCLUSION: Endoscopic hemoclips are an effective treatment for MWS patients.

Distinctive aspects of peptic ulcer disease, Dieulafoy's lesion, and Mallory-Weiss syndrome in patients with advanced alcoholic liver disease or cirrhosis

AIM: To systematically review the data on distinctive aspects of peptic ulcer disease (PUD), Dieulafoy’s lesion (DL), and Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS) in patients with advanced alcoholic liver disease (aALD), including alcoholic hepatitis or alcoholic cirrhosis.

METHODS: Computerized literature search performed via PubMed using the following medical subject heading terms and keywords: “alcoholic liver disease”, “alcoholic hepatitis”,“ alcoholic cirrhosis”, “cirrhosis”, “liver disease”, “upper gastrointestinal bleeding”, “non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding”, “PUD”, ‘‘DL’’, ‘‘Mallory-Weiss tear”, and “MWS’’.

RESULTS: While the majority of acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding with aALD is related to portal hypertension, about 30%-40% of acute GI bleeding in patients with aALD is unrelated to portal hypertension. Such bleeding constitutes an important complication of aALD because of its frequency, severity, and associated mortality. Patients with cirrhosis have a markedly increased risk of PUD, which further increases with the progression of cirrhosis. Patients with cirrhosis or aALD and peptic ulcer bleeding (PUB) have worse clinical outcomes than other patients with PUB, including uncontrolled bleeding, rebleeding, and mortality. Alcohol consumption, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use, and portal hypertension may have a pathogenic role in the development of PUD in patients with aALD. Limited data suggest that Helicobacter pylori does not play a significant role in the pathogenesis of PUD in most cirrhotic patients. The frequency of bleeding from DL appears to be increased in patients with aALD. DL may be associated with an especially high mortality in these patients. MWS is strongly associated with heavy alcohol consumption from binge drinking or chronic alcoholism, and is associated with aALD. Patients with aALD have more severe MWS bleeding and are more likely to rebleed when compared to non-cirrhotics. Pre-endoscopic management of acute GI bleeding in patients with aALD unrelated to portal hypertension is similar to the management of aALD patients with GI bleeding from portal hypertension, because clinical distinction before endoscopy is difficult. Most patients require intensive care unit admission and attention to avoid over-transfusion, to correct electrolyte abnormalities and coagulopathies, and to administer antibiotic prophylaxis. Alcoholics should receive thiamine and be closely monitored for symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. Prompt endoscopy, after initial resuscitation, is essential to diagnose and appropriately treat these patients. Generally, the same endoscopic hemostatic techniques are used in patients bleeding from PUD, DL, or MWS in patients with aALD as in the general population.

CONCLUSION: Nonvariceal upper GI bleeding in patients with aALD has clinically important differences from that in the general population without aALD, including: more frequent and more severe bleeding from PUD, DL, or MWS.

Rare case of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in achalasia

Achalasia is a prototypic esophageal motility disorder with complications including aspiration-pneumonia, esophagitis, esophageal-tracheal fistula, spontaneous rupture of the esophagus, and squamous cell carcinoma. However, achalasia is rarely associated with esophageal stones and ulcer formation that lead to upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Here, we report the case of a 61-year-old woman who was admitted to our department after vomiting blood for six hours. Physical examination revealed that the patient had severe anemia and mild palpitation in the upper abdomen. CT revealed lower esophageal dilatation and esophageal wall thickening, and an emergency upper endoscopy showed that the esophagus was substantially expanded by a dark round stone, with multiple ulcers on the esophageal wall and a slit in the cardiac mucosa with a large clot attached. The patient’s history included ingestion of 1 kg hawthorn three days prior. The acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding was caused by Mallory-Weiss syndrome associated with achalasia and an esophageal stone. For patients with achalasia, preventing excessive ingestion of tannins is crucial to avoid complications such as bleeding and rupture.

Diagnosis and treatment of Mallory-Weiss syndrome: Our experience with 64 cases

AIM: To explore the diagnosis and treatment of Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS).

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed of 64 MWS patients treated at our hospital from January 2010 to March 2014. The causes, endoscopic findings, treatment and prognosis were evaluated according to a new type of clinical classification.

RESULTS: The male to female ratio was 3.3∶1 and the average age was 50.2 years old. Approximately 53.1% of MWS cases were caused by over-drinking or inappropriate diet occasionally, 37.5% caused by underlying gastric diseases such as peptic ulcer (26.6%), gastric cancer (6.3%) or Dieulafoy's disease (4.7%), and 9.4% by endoscopic examination or treatment. 62.5% of MWS cases developed only one lesion of the cardia and/or lower esophagus and 29.7% developed two to three lesions. The lesions may occur in any location of the wall of the cardia and/or lower esophagus, with the right wall being a relatively common location (32.5%). According to a new type of clinical classification introduced here based on endoscopic examination, 17.2% of MWS cases were found to have active bleeding (type A) such as spouting, pulsating or oozing, 21.9% with a fresh blood clot (type B) and 32.8% with an old blood clot (type C). The rest (28.1%) was found to have linear ulcer or scar (type D). All type A patients were treated by endoscopic clipping, and some patients additionally underwent noradrenalin spraying. Some type B patients were treated by clipping or noradrenalin spraying. Only one type A patient died because of suspected underlying intestinal bleeding, and all other patients were cured.

CONCLUSION: Underlying gastric diseases are important causes of MWS and easy to be ignored, especially Dieulafoy's disease. Endoscopic clipping is the first choice of treatment for MWS, and the new type of clinical classification is useful for disease evaluation.

Treatment of intractable Mallory-Weiss syndrome with octreotide: a report of 24 cases

AIM: To observe the efficacy of octreotide in the treatment of intractable Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS).

METHODS: Forty-seven MWS patients who did not respond to routine treatment within 24 h were randomly divided into two groups: treatment group (n = 24) and control group (n = 23). Patients in the control group were given an intravenous infusion of 40 mg omeprazole, once every 12 hours, while those in the treatment group were given the same dose of omeprazole as well as continuous intravenous administration of octreotide via a micro pump at a constant speed of 25 μg/h for three days.

RESULTS: After treatment with octreotide, hemostasis was achieved in 17 (70.8%) patients. The overall response rate achieved in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (91.67% vs 73.91%, P < 0.01). Moreover, the hemostasis success rate in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION: Combined use of octerotide and omeprazole is more effective in the treatment of MWS patients who do not respond to routine treatment.

Mallory-Weiss syndrome: a clinical analysis of 78 cases

AIM: To investigate the clinical characteristic, gastroscopic manifestation and treatment of Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS).

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 78 MWS patients admitted to hospital from March 2003 to April 2008.

RESULTS: MWS was estimated to account for 6.13% of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Vomiting after alcohol drinking was the main etiology. Under gastroscope, all tears were longitudinal and common in cardia. The manifestation was correlated with the intervals from pathogenesis to gastroscopic examination (P < 0.05), but not associated with H pylori infection and patients' age. Eight of 78 cases were treated with endoscopic hemostasis and hemorrhage did not relapse; among the 70 cases with medical treatment, only 1 case was found with recurrence of bleeding, but after treatment with endoscopic hemostasis, the bleeding was stopped.

CONCLUSION: Both conservative and endoscopic treatment have favorable efficacy in stopping the bleeding of MWS, and the latter can be performed when the former was of no effect.

Endoscopic band ligation and endoscopic hemoclip placement for patients with Mallory-Weiss syndrome and active bleeding

AIM: To compare the hemostatic efficacy and safety of two mechanical endoscopic methods: endoscopic band ligation (EBL) and endoscopic hemoclip placement (EHP) in patients with actively bleeding Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS).

METHODS: A prospective randomized study to compare the efficacy and safety of EHP with EBL was performed from January 2002 to August 2005. Forty-one patients with active bleeding from MWS were treated with EHP (n = 21) or EBL (n = 20).

RESULTS: There were no significant differences between groups with respect to clinical and endoscopic characteristics. The mean number of hemoclips applied was 3.2 ± 1.5 and the mean number of bands applied was 1.2 ± 0.4. Primary hemostasis was achieved in all patients. Recurrent bleeding was observed in one patient from the EHP group and two from the EBL group. Patients with recurrent bleeding were treated by the same modality as at randomization and secondary hemostasis was achieved in all. There were no significant differences between the two groups in total transfusion amount or duration of hospital stay. No complications or bleeding-related death resulted.

CONCLUSION: EHP and EBL are equally effective and safe for the management of active bleeding in patients with Mallory-Weiss syndrome, even in those with shock or comorbid diseases.