A 74-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with epigastric pain, severe nausea and vomiting, and diarrhea that had started 3 days previously. She had eaten raw Ayu fish 4 days before admission. An abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan revealed the presence of gas in the portal vein and remarkable thickening of the gastric wall. In many cases, the gas in the portal vein indicates the existence of intestinal necrosis. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed a submucosal tumor-like elevation in the gastric corpus. She was diagnosed with sepsis and phlegmonous gastritis (PG) with hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG) caused by Aeromonas hydrophila, which was detected in her stool. The patient was treated with antibiotics and discharged from the hospital 23 days after admission in a stable condition. When caused by PG, HPVG is not necessarily considered a poor prognostic factor and is expected to be treatable with medication. However, patients should be closely monitored for signs of a life-threatening pathology such as intestinal necrosis.
Keywords: Aeromonas hydrophila; Hepatic portal venous gas; Phlegmonous gastritis.