Massive upper gastrointestinal bleed masquerading as portal hypertension due to foreign body ingestion in an infant: A case report

Abstract

Massive gastrointestinal (GI) bleed frequently presents as a pediatric emergency, which needs to be aggressively managed and thoroughly investigated. We report the case of a 9-month-old infant who presented with a massive GI bleed due to foreign body ingestion. The chest X-ray showed a hairpin lodgment in the stomach. The patient had recurrent GI bleeds leading to shock. Once stabilized, a hairpin was retrieved from his gastric rugae folds by upper GI endoscopy. Our case highlights the need of looking beyond the routine causes in cases of intractable GI bleed, especially in the pediatric age group.

Keywords

• acute upper gastrointestinal bleed
• foreign body ingestion
• variceal bleed