YOUNG WOMANS DIGESTIVE ARTERIAL-OCCLUSION - A CASE-REPORT AND LITERATURE-REVIEW

The authors report the observation of a 31-year-old woman who presente d with total occlusion of digestive arteries and was successfully trea ted pharmacologically. A review of the literature shows that digestive arteries thrombosis is a rare condition in young women. Only 15 cases have been previously reported. Prognosis was poor with a mortality ra te of 71%; 93% used oral contraception and more than 50% were smokers. All these cases were curiously similar. The authors accentuate the ro le of iloprost in the recovery of the patient. Digestive artery occlus ion should be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis o f abdominal pain, especially in young women who smoke and take estroge n-containing birth control pills.