Biopsy specimen appearances of ischaemic gastritis in splanchnic arterial insufficiency

Clinical features and progress of ischemic gastritis with high fatalities: Seven case reports

BACKGROUND

Ischemic gastritis is a clinically rare and highly fatal disease that occurs when the hemodynamics of a patient with vascular risk is disrupted. Early diagnosis and treatment are possible only with upper endoscopy after symptom appearance. We report seven cases of ischemic gastritis and its clinical features, prognosis, and indicators that may help in early detection.

CASE SUMMARY

Of the seven patients, six had vascular risk and five died within 2 wk of diagnosis. Their symptoms included hematemesis and hypotension. Although surgery is a choice for radical treatment, not all patients were tolerant. For such patients, conservative treatment was selected, but all of them died. In contrast, patients who underwent repeat endoscopy showed improved mucosal findings, suggesting that this improvement may not affect prognosis. Some ischemic changes such as wall thickening, mural emphysema, and fluid retention in the stomach were observed before diagnosis through endoscopy and computed tomography (CT). The CT scan can be effective for early detection, and improvement in circulatory failure and aggressive treatment may save the lives of patients with this disease.

CONCLUSION

The characteristic CT findings enable early detection of ischemic gastritis. Early diagnosis increases the chance of survival if early therapeutic intervention and improvement of circulatory dynamics can be achieved in this highly fatal disease.

Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of gastric ischemia

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Gastric ischemia is infrequently reported in the medical literature and under-recognized clinically and histopathologically. Various medical terms are used to describe gastric ischemia. We define and review the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of gastric ischemia.

METHODS

We describe 6 cases of gastric ischemia. We discuss features of the gastric vascular supply and review literature on this disorder.

RESULTS

Gastric ischemia results from diffuse or localized vascular insufficiency caused by etiologies such as systemic hypotension, vasculitis, or disseminated thromboembolism. The disorder is managed by fluid resuscitation, nasogastric tube placement (for intermittent air and fluid aspiration, to prevent or reduce gastric distention), aggressive acid reduction (via intravenous administration of proton pump inhibitors), and selective use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for patients with sepsis or gastric pneumatosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Gastric ischemia has a poor prognosis. Early diagnosis is required for appropriate patient management.

Lethal nature of ischemic gastropathy: a case report of celiomesenteric vascular insufficiency

Celiomesenteric ischemia has an insidious onset and the non-specific symptoms are often misdiagnosed as cholecystitis or peptic ulcer disease with a consequential delay between the onset of symptoms and radiological evidence of vascular occlusive disease. A elderly man was hospitalized after a 2-3 week history of acute abdominal pain, frequent vomiting, and chronic diarrhea associated with bloody stools. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed a cobblestone gastric pattern with multiple ulcerated areas and the specimens indicated focal full thickness coagulative necrosis of the mucosa. A magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) revealed a widespread and severe atheromatous disease characterized by a hemodynamically significant stenosis of the celiac tripod, pre-occlusive stenosis of the superior mesenteric artery and complete occlusion of the inferior mesenteric artery. MRA is now the best and most accessible noninvasive examination to help establish a diagnosis, providing high-quality three-dimensional images of the celiac axis and mesenteric arteries. However, the various features observed in this case such as the clinical history, the presence of a cobblestone pattern with multiple ulcerated areas in the stomach, the coagulative-type necrosis and ischemic atrophy of the adjacent mucosa were considered diagnostic of gastric ischemia.

[A rare cause of gastric ulcer]

Drug-induced gastrointestinal tract lesions are becoming more frequent but are generally little known. Although a large number of drugs have gastrointestinal adverse effects, there are few characteristic patterns. Acute ischemic gastritis is an uncommon entity that is rarely distinguished from other forms of intestinal ischemia. We report the case of a 69-year-old woman who was diagnosed with an unusual gastric lesion in the context of an acute exacerbation of her anemia.

Ischaemic gastric ulceration with endoscopic healing after revascularization

A 66-year-old man with a history of abdominal pain, diarrhoea and weight loss was admitted for evaluation. Gastroscopy disclosed a severe gastric ulceration covering the lesser curvature. There was none of the usual risk factors for peptic ulcer disease and no malignancy was found. After 2 weeks' treatment with a proton pump inhibitor no healing was observed. The patient had a known atherosclerotic vascular disease, and angiography disclosed severe mesenteric ischaemia. After a revascularization procedure with stenting of the superior mesenteric artery was performed, the patient's symptoms disappeared. Healing of the gastric ulceration was observed at a further gastroscopy 2 weeks later. Chronic ischaemia is a rare cause of gastric ulcer, but should be suspected when no other cause is found and when the usual treatment with proton pump inhibitors does not result in healing.