Cocaine-Related Gastric Perforation

Since the 1980s the abuse of cocaine has been associated with gastroduodenal perforations in the United States. Here, we report the case of a 28-year-old man who came to our hospital with severe abdominal pain after smoking cocaine. Physical examination revealed generalised abdominal guarding. His X-ray did not show any free intraperitoneal air. However, there was a slightly elevated white blood cell count. Upon laparoscopic exploration of the abdomen, the patient was found to have a generalised peritonitis secondary to a perforation of the prepyloric anterior wall. The operative procedure consisted of ulcer excision and primary closure with a pyloroplasty as well as an extensive abdominal irrigation after laparotomy.