Concomitant Sarcina-Associated Erosive Esophagitis and Refractory Helicobacter pylori Gastritis

For unclear reasons, there has been an increasing number of reported cases of Sarcina infections in the gastrointestinal tract over the past several years. Associated clinical conditions with the infection most commonly include delayed gastric emptying from diabetes mellitus, a history of previous gastrointestinal surgery, and ulcer disease. The precise pathogenetic role of Sarcina infection in humans remains unclear. Because of the ubiquitous environmental presence of Sarcina and limited previously reported clinical cases, the link between symptoms along with endoscopic findings to Sarcina can be associative at best. When found in the upper GI tract, the decision to treat along with the chosen regimen remains debatable. Sarcina, however, has rarely been seen in the esophagus. We report the third case of Sarcina of the esophagus associated with Helicobacter pylori gastritis.