An unusual and fatal case of upper gastrointestinal perforation and bleeding secondary to foreign body ingestion

Abstract

We report a fatal case of gastrointestinal perforation and hemorrhage secondary to the ingestion of a foreign body. While engaged in an amateur futsal competition, an apparently healthy young man suddenly collapsed and his respiration ceased. Autopsy revealed a 3-mm circular perforation on the gastric wall fundus with a significant amount of clotted blood within the gastric lumen. On inspection, a foreign body consisting of a bristle-like hair, later identified via electron microscopy to be a cat vibrissa, i.e. a whisker, was found along the perforation margin. Thus, the inadvertent ingestion of fine, sharp objects (even a cat whisker) can lead to gastric perforation and bleeding, which might prove fatal under given circumstances.

Keywords: Foreign body reaction; Gastric perforation; Gastrointestinal bleeding.