Curling's ulcer is an acute gastric erosion resulting as a complication from severe burns when reduced
plasma
Plasma or plasm may refer to:
Science
* Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter
* Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral
* Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics
Biology
* Blood pla ...
volume leads to ischemia and cell necrosis (sloughing) of the
gastric mucosa. The condition was first described in 1823 and named after
Thomas Blizard Curling
Thomas Blizard Curling (18114 March 1888) was a British surgeon.
He was born in Tavistock Place, London in 1811, the son of civil servant Daniel and Elizabeth (née Blizard) Curling and educated at Manor House, Chiswick. Without a degree but th ...
, who observed ten such patients in 1842.
These
stress ulcers (actually shallow multiple erosions) were once a common complication of serious burns, presenting in over 10% of cases,
and especially common in child burn victims. They result in perforation and
hemorrhage more often than other forms of intestinal ulceration and had correspondingly high mortality rates (at least 80%).
A similar condition involving elevated intracranial pressure is known as
Cushing's ulcer
A Cushing ulcer, named after Harvey Cushing, is a gastric ulcer associated with elevated intracranial pressure. It is also called von Rokitansky–Cushing syndrome. Apart from the stomach, ulcers may also develop in the proximal duodenum and d ...
.
Treatment
While emergency surgery was once the only treatment, combination therapies including
enteral feeding
Enteral administration is food or drug administration via the human gastrointestinal tract. This contrasts with parenteral nutrition or drug administration (Greek ''para'', "besides" + ''enteros''), which occurs from routes outside the GI tract, ...
with powerful antacids such as
H2-receptor antagonists or, more recently,
proton pump inhibitors such as
omeprazole have made Curling's ulcer a rare complication.
See also
*
Cushing ulcer
References
External links
{{Digestive system diseases
Duodenum disorders