Resumen de Gastric phytobezoars: the therapeutic experience of 63 patients in Northern China
Lin Lin, Canghai Wang, Jing Wu, Kuiliang Liu, Hong Liu, Nan Wei, Wu Lin, Guojun Jiang, Weiping Tai, Hui Su
Introduction: Sixty-three patients with gastric phytobezoars were reviewed. Methods: forty-eight (76.2%) patients received endoscopic combined with chemical therapies and 15 (23.8%) received only chemical therapy initially. Fifty-one (81.0%) patients achieved complete removal (only chemical therapy 14/15), while 12 (19.0%) received further endoscopic therapies. Results: finally, 62 (98.4%) patients achieved a complete removal. Considering only patients with combined treatment as a first approach, treatment success was associated with a softer phytobezoar consistency (p = 0.023). Conclusion: in conclusion, most patients achieve a favorable outcome. Chemical therapy is useful in selected cases. Repeated endoscopic therapies may be needed in order to completely remove phytobezoars with a hard consistency.
