Risk factors of gastric outlet obstruction

Risk factors of gastric outlet obstruction

Gastric outlet obstruction refers to a medical condition where obstruction occurs at pylorus, a stomach outlet. Victims of this health condition exhibit recurrent vomiting of the food that is accumulated in the stomach which finds it hard to pass through the small intestines because of the obstruction. Naturally, the stomach contracts and expands to allow in the intake of food and secretion respectively.

There are two types of gastric outlet obstruction causes - malignant and benign. Benign causes include the peptic ulcers which attack the area around the stomach outlet (pylorus) and the malignant causes include gastric cancer.

Benign risk factors:

·        Infections like tuberculosis as well as diseases which are infiltrative such as amyloidosis.

·        Peptic ulcer diseases

·        Though a rare case, gallstone blockage promotes gastric outlet obstruction

·        Children may also develop this condition due to an early attack by congenital pyloric stenosis 

Malignant risk factors:

·        Malignant risk factors include stomach tumors such as adenocarcinoma and its variant linitis plastica, gastrointestinal stromal tumors and lyphoma.

People who have the history of having suffered from the above complications are at a higher risk of developing gastric outlet obstruction. Peptic ulcers may lead to the scarring of the ulcer and oedema closely followed by fibrosis and healing which cause an obstruction of the gastroduodenal junction.