title: "Black esophagus": a rare complication of shock.
abstract: An 83-yr-old man was admitted to our hospital in a state of shock. Twenty four hours after his admission, he started to pass fresh blood from his nasogastric tube. Upper endoscopy revealed diffuse, confluent blackening of the esophageal mucosa. A repeated endoscopy, after hemodynamic stabilization, demonstrated a striking improvement with granulation tissue. Caustic injury and viral or fungal infections were ruled out by history, clinical features, and appropriate tests. We suggest that in this elderly patient, a state of shock resulted in ischemic infarction of the esophageal mucosa.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Hadassah University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Haviv
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reinus
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004947:Esophagus / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007238:Infarction / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology; D009336:Necrosis; D012769:Shock / Q000150:complications*