16 Y/O Female with “Watermelon Stomach”?

Background. Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) also known as “watermelon stomach” (WS) is an uncommon cause of gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss. It typically presents in middle aged females. We are presenting a case of GAVE at an unusually early age with atypical symptoms. Case. A previously hea...

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Main Authors: Amandeep Singh, Anwaar A. Khan, Robert Krall, Zafar K. Mirza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/725341
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author Amandeep Singh
Anwaar A. Khan
Robert Krall
Zafar K. Mirza
author_facet Amandeep Singh
Anwaar A. Khan
Robert Krall
Zafar K. Mirza
author_sort Amandeep Singh
collection DOAJ
description Background. Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) also known as “watermelon stomach” (WS) is an uncommon cause of gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss. It typically presents in middle aged females. We are presenting a case of GAVE at an unusually early age with atypical symptoms. Case. A previously healthy 16 y/o Caucasian female presented to the ER with a one-month history of upper abdominal pain. Physical examination was benign except tenderness in the epigastric region. There were no significant findings on laboratory data. Upper endoscopy showed incidental findings of linear striae in the antrum indicative of GAVE but histology was equivocal. Discussion. GAVE is a poorly understood but treatable entity and an increasingly identifiable cause of chronic iron deficiency anemia or acute or occult upper GI bleeding. The pathophysiology of GAVE remains unclear. It is an endoscopic finding characterized by longitudinal columns of tortuous red ectatic vessels (watermelon stripes), pathognomonic for WS. Treatment options include endoscopic, pharmacologic, and surgical approaches. Failure to recognize GAVE can result in delayed treatment for years. Our patient with GAVE was unusually young and was diagnosed incidentally. Due to lack of anemia on laboratory examination we elected to monitor her clinically for any future development of anemia.
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spelling doaj-art-9fca9d6da5ce41df849059d070ea91712025-08-20T02:20:51ZengWileyCase Reports in Medicine1687-96271687-96352015-01-01201510.1155/2015/72534172534116 Y/O Female with “Watermelon Stomach”?Amandeep Singh0Anwaar A. Khan1Robert Krall2Zafar K. Mirza3Department of Medicine, Olean General Hospital, Olean, NY, USADepartment of Medicine, Olean General Hospital, Olean, NY, USADepartment of Medicine, Olean General Hospital, Olean, NY, USADepartment of Medicine, Olean General Hospital, Olean, NY, USABackground. Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) also known as “watermelon stomach” (WS) is an uncommon cause of gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss. It typically presents in middle aged females. We are presenting a case of GAVE at an unusually early age with atypical symptoms. Case. A previously healthy 16 y/o Caucasian female presented to the ER with a one-month history of upper abdominal pain. Physical examination was benign except tenderness in the epigastric region. There were no significant findings on laboratory data. Upper endoscopy showed incidental findings of linear striae in the antrum indicative of GAVE but histology was equivocal. Discussion. GAVE is a poorly understood but treatable entity and an increasingly identifiable cause of chronic iron deficiency anemia or acute or occult upper GI bleeding. The pathophysiology of GAVE remains unclear. It is an endoscopic finding characterized by longitudinal columns of tortuous red ectatic vessels (watermelon stripes), pathognomonic for WS. Treatment options include endoscopic, pharmacologic, and surgical approaches. Failure to recognize GAVE can result in delayed treatment for years. Our patient with GAVE was unusually young and was diagnosed incidentally. Due to lack of anemia on laboratory examination we elected to monitor her clinically for any future development of anemia.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/725341
spellingShingle Amandeep Singh
Anwaar A. Khan
Robert Krall
Zafar K. Mirza
16 Y/O Female with “Watermelon Stomach”?
Case Reports in Medicine
title 16 Y/O Female with “Watermelon Stomach”?
title_full 16 Y/O Female with “Watermelon Stomach”?
title_fullStr 16 Y/O Female with “Watermelon Stomach”?
title_full_unstemmed 16 Y/O Female with “Watermelon Stomach”?
title_short 16 Y/O Female with “Watermelon Stomach”?
title_sort 16 y o female with watermelon stomach
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/725341
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