Hemorrhagic Stress-induced Gastric Ulcer in a Healthy Toddler

Abstract

A 1-year-old female toddler who was under a great amount of psychological stress presented with acute hematemesis. She had no significant medical history; she displayed lethargy and was anemic. Although blood transfusion and famotidine were administered for upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB), the anemia did not improve. Thus, early endoscopy was performed under general anesthesia, revealing a gastric ulcer with exposed vessels in the supra-angular region. Cauterization via bipolar hemostatic forceps was performed on the exposed vessels, and the bleeding was controlled successfully. We diagnosed the patient with hemorrhagic stress-induced gastric ulcer due to psychological stress. Three months later, endoscopy revealed that the gastric ulcer had healed.

Hematemesis in a Newborn: A Case Report

“…Gastrin has been previously implicated in such cases, but recent reports question the transplacental passage of this hormone to the human fetus and the role it plays in isolated ulcer development [12]. Matsueda et al have presented a case of a stress-induced gastric ulcer in a previously healthy toddler possibly due to psychological stress [13]. The effect of perinatal stress during pregnancy on gut development in neonates has been rarely reported and further work in this area is required.…”