Black esophagus: exploring the dark

Abstract

Black esophagus is a rare but underdiagnosed disease. It occurs most frequently in severely ill patients and carries a high mortality rate. Cause of death is usually attributed to the comorbid conditions. Treatment is directed at the underlying cause, acid suppression and keeping the patient nil-per-os. Surgery is needed in complicated cases and stenosis is the most feared longterm sequel. In the present article, two cases are described and literature is reviewed.

Acute esophageal necrosis masquerading acute coronary syndrome

“…1,2 The etiology is thought to be multifactorial including a combination of ischemic insult, mucosal barrier defect, and a backflow injury of gastric secretions. 1,4,[9][10][11] There are certain conditions which predispose patients to AEN such as male sex, older age, and chronic comorbidities like diabetes mellitus, hematologic malignancies, malnutrition, renal insufficiency, cardiovascular insufficiency, trauma, and thromboembolic phenomena. 1,4,[7][8][9][10][11] AEN typically presents with an acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, though other symptoms such as dysphagia, epigastric pain, and chest pain have been described.…”