[Phlegmonous gastritis in pregnancy--a case with fatal course]

A case of maternal death and still birth in the 35th week of pregnancy is described where the cause of death was the very rarely diagnosed phlegmonous gastritis. The phlegmonous gastritis is characterised by dangerous, fulminating pyogenic bacterial infection of the gastric wall with alpha-haemolytical streptococci. The entity seems to have been well-known earlier, but has only been reported sparsely in contemporary medical literature. It cannot be ruled out that the disease may have been misdiagnosed on several occasions in recent decades because of symptomatic treatment. In presenting the case, the authors seek to attract attention to this disease--that according to the contemporary medical literature seems mostly to be induced by modern treatment with antacids and after gastroscopy--because it can be effectively treated with modern antibiotics, possibly in combination with gastrectomy.