Upper G.I. hemorrhage from glass fragments' ingestion in a patient with jejunal diverticula - Case report

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a common emergency. The ingestion of foreign bodies represents a less frequent cause of bleeding, but it is equally life-threatening, especially if the patient does not report the incident.

We are reporting the case of a 77-year-old patient with a bleeding caused by ingestion of glass fragments with co-existing jejunal diverticula.

The ingestion of foreign bodies is a rare, mostly accidental event. Another possible source of upper G.I. bleeding is jejunal diverticula; in this case, the examination of the specimens showed evidence of glass ingestion fragments as the likely cause of bleeding.

Surgeons should be aware that patients may fail to report correctly on the possible causes of bleeding, misleading the diagnosis, and delaying the diagnostic routes.