ABSTRACT
Diverticula may occur throughout the gastrointestinal tract, gastric localization is the most infrequent and these can be: false diverticula, which are less common and typically located in the antrum; and true diverticula, which are more frequent and are located in the posterior wall of the gastric fundus. This is a very rare condition and its prevalence in radiographic studies can be of 0.04 percent, in endoscopy, of 0.01 percent to 0.11 percent, and of 0.1 percent to 2.6 percent in autopsy series. Diagnosis is typically in the fifth and sixth decades. Normally this is an incidental finding in asymptomatic patients, by means of an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, upper digestive tract ultrasound or computed tomography. Due to low incidence, there is no consensus regarding treatment, however the general practice is that only those patients with symptomatic diverticula must receive medical treatment; and those with diverticula > 4 cm must undergo surgery, due to the risk of inflammation, bleeding, perforation, or malignant transformation, caused by food retention and subsequent release of gastric juices within the mucosal sac. We present the case of two asymptomatic patients who were diagnosed incidentally.
Los divertículos pueden ocurrir a lo largo de todo el tracto gastrointestinal, la localización gástrica es la menos frecuente, pueden ser falsos, que son menos frecuentes y se localizan en el antro gástrico, y verdaderos que son los más frecuentes y se localizan en la pared posterior del fondo gástrico. Se trata de una condición muy rara y su prevalencia en estudios radiográficos puede ser del 0,04 por ciento, en endoscopias del 0,01 por ciento al 0,11 por ciento, y con una prevalencia en series de autopsias del 0,1 al 2,6 por ciento. El diagnóstico se realiza más frecuentemente en la quinta década de la vida. Generalmente, es un hallazgo casual en pacientes asintomáticos, y se realiza mediante endoscopia de vías digestivas altas, radiografía de vías digestivas altas o tomografía computarizada. Debido a la baja incidencia, no existe consenso en cuanto al tratamiento, pero el concepto general es que solo deben ser tratados medicamente los pacientes con divertículos sintomáticos, o mediante cirugía, aquellos con diámetro mayor a 4 cm, dado el riesgo de inflamación, sangrado, perforación, o transformación maligna, debido a la retención de los alimentos con la subsiguiente liberación y retención de los jugos gástricos dentro del saco diverticular. Presentamos el caso de dos pacientes asintomáticos, en quienes se realizó el diagnóstico de forma fortuita.
Subject(s)
Male , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Aged , Diverticulum, Stomach/diagnostic imaging , Endoscopy, Digestive System , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
Gastric diverticulum is an uncommon form of diverticular disease that can occur at all ages but is generally encountered between the ages of 20 to 60 years. Only 4% of gastric diverticula occur in patients younger than 20 years old. Apart from Meckel's diverticulum, gastrointestinal tract diverticula are extremely rare, particularly during infancy and childhood with the stomach being the least common site of occurrence. We report a case of gastric diverticulum in a 40-day-old infant who presented with frequent vomiting and a failure to thrive. An upper gastrointestinal contrast study revealed a diverticulum on the posterior wall of the stomach located approximately 2 cm below the esophagogastric junction. The same lesion was also identified by esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Congenital gastric divertilulum should be considered in a differential diagnosis of vomiting and/or a failure to thrive in infancy.