ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dyspnea is one of the most common complaints facing the emergency medicine physician. Some of the gastrointestinal causes of dyspnea are self-limited and not life-threatening, yet others are, and early diagnosis and treatment are crucial.METHODS: In this article we presented one of these life-threatening conditions through a clinical description of a patient presenting with acute respiratory distress that was finally diagnosed to be the result of a perforated gastric ulcer.RESULTS: An emergent thoracotomy revealed a small ulcer with perforation in the fundus of the stomach. The patient was transferred after the operation to the intensive care unit and after a prolonged hospitalization discharged home. Biopsies taken from the ulcer showed diffuse inflammation, with no evidence of microorganisms or malignancy.CONCLUSION: Perforation of gastric and duodenal ulcers is a rare yet existing cause of dyspnea and respiratory failure and should be kept in mind by the emergency physician, especially when other more common causes are ruled out.