Spontaneous gastric perforation complicating spontaneous acute bronchiolitis in an infant

Spontaneous gastric perforation is rare in infants and the mechanisms leading to its onset are poorly understood. This study reports the first case of spontaneous gastric perforation occurred in Congo. This case report describes a 5-month years old female infant who, on the fourth day of hospitalization for severe acute bronchiolitis associated with diarrhea complicated by moderate acute dehydration, had violent onset of severe and painful abdominal distension associated with signs of shock. Abdominal x-ray without treatment showed a large volume pneumoperitoneum. Laparotomy showed round perforation on the posterior wall of the stomach which was sutured. The postoperative course was marked by the occurrence of septic shock and by infant death.