Perforated duodenal ulcer in a pediatric patient with eosinophilic gastroenteritis

An 11-year-old boy with eosinophilic gastroenteritis treated by an elimination diet alone presented with a perforated gastroduodenal ulcer subsequent to blunt trauma to the abdomen. Peripheral eosinophilia, chronic iron deficiency, chronic hypoalbuminemia and severe failure to thrive had been present since age 2 years. Immunological work-up revealed food allergies, documented by skin tests. A review of the literature since 1966 revealed only six other cases of perforation of the gastrointestinal trace, one of whom was also a child.