AbstractsMedical & Health Science

The clinical condition of acute gastric dilatation is of considerable importance to both surgeons and physicians because of the rather sudden onset and the frequently fatal outcome if one fails to recognize it immediately. Fortunately, the event is rare, nevertheless it is serious and embarrassing because it develops usually as an unexpected complication. It is known to follow trauma, infections and particularly surgical procedures. The incidence of gastric dilatation has decreased considerably since the introduction of methods of anaesthesia and of gastric intubation in abdominal procedures. However, it still remains a problem of unknown etiology in many of the cases studied.