Gastric outlet obstruction in Northwestern Ethiopia

This was a three-year prospective study to assess the magnitude and spectrum of gastric outlet obstruction in Gondar Teaching Hospital, North West Ethiopia. Out of the 63 proven cases of gastric outlet obstruction, 51 (81%) were caused by complicated duodenal or pyloric ulcer. Pyloric tuberculosis accounted for 11% of cases. Many (48%) of the patients were farmers and the peak age incidence was between 50 and 59 years. Four of the patients were in shock on admission.
Truncal vagotomy with gastroenterostomy was the most frequently performed procedure with a good outcome. This study shows that peptic ulcer disease is a serious problem in the community. More effort is needed to make effective drugs against peptic ulcer disease available. Moreover, in our set up, tuberculosis should always be borne in mind as a differential diagnosis to the other causes of gastric outlet obstruction such as complicated peptic ulcer disease and malignancy.