Gastric perforation

Medium urgency
-Moderately severe

It is the tearing of the stomach wall.

The most common cause is an ulcer that affects the entire thickness of the gastric wall.

It manifests with severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and/or shivers.

Diagnosis is reached through clinical history and complete physical examination. Additional tests will include blood and imaging tests (x-ray of the abdomen, CT-scan).

Treatment almost always involves surgery to repair the tear.

Bibliographic references
  1. Michael J Cahalane. Overview of gastrointestinal tract perforation. UpToDate Mar 01, 2016
  2. Nimish B Vakil. Overview of the complications of peptic ulcer disease. UpToDate Mar 11, 2015
  3. Hermansson M, Ekedahl A, Ranstam J, Zilling T. Decreasing incidence of peptic ulcer complications after the introduction of the proton pump inhibitors, a study of the Swedish population from 1974-2002. BMC Gastroenterol 2009; 9:25.
  4. Spoormans I, Van Hoorenbeeck K, Balliu L, Jorens PG. Gastric perforation after cardiopulmonary resuscitation: review of the literature. Resuscitation 2010; 81:272.
  5. Bertleff MJ, Halm JA, Bemelman WA, et al. Randomized clinical trial of laparoscopic versus open repair of the perforated peptic ulcer: the LAMA Trial. World J Surg 2009; 33:1368.
  6. Voermans RP, Worm AM, van Berge Henegouwen MI, et al. In vitro comparison and evaluation of seven gastric closure modalities for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). Endoscopy 2008; 40:595.
Author
Dr. Oscar Garcia-Esquirol
Copyright
© TeckelMedical 2026

Symptoms

    Abdomen is rigid as a board


    Unbearable pain


    Abdominal pain increases with pressure


    Abdominal pain so acute that you have to stay still and lie down


    Feeling generally unwell