title: Peritoneal leakage of gastric contents, a rare complication of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A 94-year-old man underwent a routine percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy but 7 days later developed abdominal pain and died of a previously unreported late complication.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case report of the main clinical and pathological findings and a brief discussion of the significance of the case.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Postmortem examination revealed a chemical peritonitis due to leakage of 2.8 L of formula into the peritoneal cavity through an enlarged gastrostomy hole around a correctly positioned tube.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is a previously unreported complication that occurred because of repeated pulling on the tube by a confused patient, causing a loss of the usual apposition of the gastric and the anterior abdominal walls. The importance of the case is to emphasize that late, even fatal, complications can occur until a permanent fibrous tract has been formed between the skin and the gastric wall.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Southmead Hospital, Bristol, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Haslam
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Harrison
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004724:Endoscopy; D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D005774:Gastrostomy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000209:etiology*