530 Case Report of Curling’s Ulcer in Convalescing Burn Patient

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Although stress ulcer disease related to burn injury was noted previously, it was the report of a series of 10 cases by Curling which lent the name to the finding. Occurrence of the disease has been attributed to the stress factors of hemodynamic instability with resultant decrease in defense factors of the gastroduodenal epithelium noted as patients began to survive massive burns. At one time, the incidence was reported as high as 23% of hospitalized burn patients. However, with advances in supportive care and antacid therapy, some have wondered if Curlings ulcers may have become extinct. Methods We report the case of a 21-year-old male admitted after MVC with 53% TBSA burn (32% full-thickness) and multiple blunt trauma injuries. Early in his course he underwent splenectomy, small bowel resection, right hemicolectomy, and ORIF of an unstable lumbar fracture, and below-knee amputation. He underwent staged excision and grafting of burn wounds and had been autografted with exception of about 11%TBSA of the left lower extremity (wound controlled with allograft). On hospital day 38, the patient was noted to have melanotic colostomy output with a concomitant drop in hemoglobin level from 7.6 g/dl to 3.5 g/dl. Results The gastroenterology service was consulted, and they performed upper endoscopy on hospital day 39. A large amount of clotted blood was seen in the stomach, but the source of bleeding was not visualized. Subsequent endoscopy the following day showed an erosion of gastric mucosa in the gastric fundus consistent with ulcer, on which two clips were placed. The patient’s stool was tested for H. pylori antigen and the test was negative. The patient continued on a proton pump inhibitor, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were held, and his hemoglobin stabilized and melanotic ostomy output resolved. Conclusions Antacid therapy, H2-blockers, and proton pump inhibitors have historically been used in cases of large burns. However, in the care of other critically ill patients the association of this therapy with ventilator associated pneumonias has lead to new scrutiny. In addition, a renewed emphasis on multimodal pain management may be introducing a bias towards an increase in so-called aggressive factors, namely NSAIDS administered over longer periods. Advances in critical care of burn patients have made Curling’s ulcers rare, but not extinct.