[Vomiting, upper abdominal pain and sepsis]

A 78-year-old man was admitted to a surgical emergency room because of an acute abdomen. He had vomited violently four times shortly after a meal. This episode was followed by severe upper abdominal and thoracic pain, radiating to the back. Clinical evaluation revealed epigastric peritoneal signs and a soft lower abdomen. Emergency laparotomy disclosed peritoneal adhesions, a distended stomach and numerous diverticula of the small intestine. Neither a perforation nor inflammatory signs were noted. A dramatic accentuation of the pain occurred, followed by the clinical picture of septic-toxic shock. On a chest X-ray, liquid was noted in the left pleural cavity. On occasion of a puncture, this liquid was found to be malodorous and bloody. Cultures yielded Vibrio vulmificus, streptococcus viridans as well as proteus and klebsiella species. The patient succumbed to multiorgan failure on the third day of hospitalization. The autopsy disclosed a recent rupture of the esophagus (Boerhaave syndrome) with purulent peri-esophagitis and mediastinitis as well as fibrinopurulent left-sided pleuritis.