Follow
Please add the profiles of those who Died from an ulcer in the esophagus, stomach or duodenum.
A perforated ulcer is a condition in which an untreated ulcer can burn through the wall of the stomach or other areas of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, allowing digestive juices and food to leak into the abdominal cavity. "Sometimes, peptic ulcers can bleed. Doctors refer to these as bleeding ulcers. Severe bleeding, known as hemorrhaging, can be life threatening. Minor bleeding in an ulcer is typically not as serious and may go unnoticed." Healthline - What You Should Know About Bleeding Ulcer
The first symptom of a perforated peptic ulcer is usually sudden, severe, sharp pain in the abdomen. The experience is typically so intense that most people precisely recall the exact moment the pain began. The pain is typically at its maximum immediately and persists. It is characteristically made worse by any movement, and greatly intensifies with coughing or sneezing. The pain is often generalized throughout the abdomen, but is sometimes focused in the upper abdomen. It may radiate to the shoulders or, less commonly, the hips.
- Spillage of digestive contents into the abdominal cavity due to a perforated ulcer provokes intense inflammation of the area. This leads to not only pain but abdominal tenderness, meaning touching or pressing on the abdomen provokes increased pain. This is evident on physical examination, as people with abdominal cavity inflammation reflexively stiffen the abdominal muscles when the doctor presses on the area. This reflex is known as abdominal guarding.
- Other signs & Symptoms include, abdominal distention (swelling), lying quietly, often in a fetal position & breathing shallowly to avoid aggravating the abdominal pain. Some experience shortness of breath, the skin may be pale & clammy and the heart rate is often rapid. Due to the fluid accumulation in the abdomen, low blood pressure, dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting may develop. Little to no urine production may occur with markedly low blood pressure.
A diagnosis is made by taking an erect abdominal/chest X-ray (seeking air under the diaphragm). This is in fact one of the very few occasions in modern times where surgery is undertaken to treat an ulcer. Many perforated ulcers have been attributed to the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
The incidence of perforated ulcer is steadily declining, though there are still incidents where it occurs.
Causes include smoking and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). A perforated ulcer can be grouped into a stercoral perforation which involves a number of different things that causes perforation of the intestine wall.
Treatment generally requires immediate surgery. The ulcer is known initially as a peptic ulcer before the ulcer burns through the full thickness of the stomach or duodenal wall.
Ulcer Emergencies:
Peptic ulcers may lead to emergency situations. Severe abdominal pain with or without evidence of bleeding may indicate a perforation of the ulcer through the stomach or duodenum. Vomiting of a substance that resembles coffee grounds, or the presence of black tarry stools, may indicate serious bleeding.
Notable cases
- Richard Pankhurst (1834–1897) had a perforated ulcer and died in 1897.
- Thomas Preston (1860–1900) had a perforated ulcer and died in 1900.
- Rudolph Valentino (1895–1926) had a perforated ulcer and died on August 23, 1926 of sepsis.
- Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) died of perforated duodenal ulcer on 18 January 1936.
- James Joyce (1882–1941) had a perforated ulcer and died on January 13, 1941, in Zürich.
- Charlie Parker (1920–1955, aged 34) had a perforated ulcer, and died on March 12, 1955; official cause of death was lobar pneumonia & bleeding ulcer, but had advanced case of cirrhosis & had suffered a heart attack. (Wikipedia - Charlie Parker)
- Albert Blithe (1923–1967) had a perforated ulcer and died on December 17, 1967.
- Vincent Eugene Craddock (aka Gene Vincent) (1935–1971, aged 36) had a ruptured stomach ulcer and died on October 12, 1971. (Wikipedia - Gene Vincent)
- John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) had a perforated bleeding ulcer & chest infection and died on September 2, 1973.
- Count Juan Raphael Dante (aka John Timothy Keehan) (1939-1975, aged 36) died of internal hemorrhaging caused by a bleeding ulcer, on May 25, 1975. (Count Dante)
- Ian Hendry (1931-1984) died of a stomach haemorrhage in London, aged 53.
- Gene Clark (1944-1991, aged 46) had perforated ulcer and died on May 24, 1991. (Wikipedia - Gene Clark aka Harold Eugene “Gene” Clark)
- Doug Hepburn (1926–2000, aged 74) had a perforated ulcer and died on November 22, 2000. (Wikipedia - Doug Hepburn)
- Philip Agee (1935–2008, aged 72) had a perforated ulcer and died on January 7, 2008. (Wikipedia - Philip Agee)
- Barbara Bush (1925-2018) was treated for a perforated ulcer with small intestinal surgery in November 2008.
- Tara Palmer-Tomkinson (1971-2017) had a perforated ulcer and died on February 8, 2017. (Wikipedia - Tara Palmer-Tomkinson)
Resources & Additional Reading:
- Wikipedia - Perforated ulcer
- Primary Surgery: Vol. One: Non-trauma, Chapter 5. The surgery of the stomach - Perforated gastric or duodenal ulcer
- Living Strong - Signs of a Perforated Peptic Ulcer
- Medline Plus - Peptic Ulcer
- Medscape - Factors Affecting Mortality and Morbidity in Patients with Peptic Ulcer Perforation
- NEJM Journal Watch - Increased Mortality in Patients with Peptic Ulcers. by David J Bjorkman, MD. 26 Jul 2016