[Acute stress ulcer in an abusing family]

The authors report one case of a 3 1/2 year-old battered boy, with acute giant stress ulcer on the lesser curvature of the stomach. Hematemesis was the presenting symptom. Diagnosis was established after fiberoptic endoscopy and upper G.I. radiological study. After a 3 weeks cimetidine treatment and psycho-affective nursing, the ulcer disappeared almost completely. To our knowledge, a stress ulcer occurring in a battered child has not been reported as yet.