title: Gastric bezoars: treatment and prevention.
abstract: Gastric bezoars may occur in the normal stomach as a result of ingestion of various objects which do not pass through the pylorus. Most gastric bezoars occur as a complication of previous gastric surgery in which there is a loss of normal pyloric function, hypoperistalsis, and low gastric acidity. They may also occur as a complication of cimetidine therapy. Symptoms include epigastric fullness, regurgitation, nausea and vomiting, and epigastric pain. A simple treatment utilizing an ordinary Teledyne Water Pik jet stream through a gastroscope is described to break up a large phytobezoar. This method is probably the treatment of choice and should be used more widely.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001630:Bezoars / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D002480:Cellulase / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005751:Gastric Lavage / Q000379:methods; D005773:Gastroscopy; D006801:Humans; D010206:Papain / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D013270:Stomach / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D002480:Cellulase; D010206:Papain