Emphysematous Gastritis in the Setting of Chronic Abdominal Pain

Aws Alameri; Alsadiq Al Hillan; Abdulrahman S Museedi; Ahmed Oglah; Mohammed Alklhero; Sadie Trammell Velásquez

doi:10.12890/2020_001749

Emphysematous Gastritis in the Setting of Chronic Abdominal Pain

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2020 Jun 19;7(9):001749. doi: 10.12890/2020_001749. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Aws Alameri¹, Alsadiq Al Hillan², Abdulrahman S Museedi¹, Ahmed Oglah¹, Mohammed Alklhero³, Sadie Trammell Velásquez¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune City, NJ, USA.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, UHS Southern California Medical Education Consortium, Temecula, CA, USA.

Abstract

Emphysematous gastritis is a rare but fatal variant of gastritis. It is caused by gastric wall invasion by gas-forming organisms. It follows disruption of gastric mucosal integrity by a variety of factors, most commonly caustic ingestion and alcohol abuse. Patients typically present with abdominal symptoms with features of septic shock. Emphysematous gastritis carries a high mortality rate warranting early intervention with supportive measures and broad-spectrum antibiotics. It is essential to consider this rare entity in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with abdominal pain as timely intervention is crucial for survival.

Learning points: Emphysematous gastritis is rare but important to keep in mind when evaluating patients with acute abdominal pain.Emphysematous gastritis is a serious condition which has a high mortality rate if not diagnosed early.

Keywords: Emphysematous gastritis; chronic abdominal pain; chronic mesenteric ischemia.