Eating too quickly and not chewing food properly is one of the main causes of intestinal obstruction due to food debris. This condition can lead to severe complications such as intestinal perforation, necrotizing enteritis, and peritonitis.
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(Photo: TTO) |
Intestinal obstruction due to food debris, also known as gastrointestinal food debris mass, can occur at any age, particularly in school-aged children. The number of patients seeking treatment has been increasing in recent years. However, clinical symptoms are often nonspecific, making diagnosis challenging and leading to the aforementioned severe complications.
The main causes of food debris mass are often related to eating fruits high in tannins (such as sapodilla, persimmon, figs, guava) and foods rich in fibrous content (such as oranges, grapefruits, jackfruit, bamboo shoots). Particularly, if consumed on an empty stomach when the stomach is still empty and hydrochloric acid (HCl) levels are high, fruits high in pectin and resin can precipitate, causing the fiber strands from plants to stick together, forming a mass.
The risk of developing a food debris mass is particularly high in children with oral injuries, poor chewing ability, and foods that are not finely ground, making them difficult to digest; or in those with gastric or pancreatic conditions that affect the process of contraction and digestion, leading to food stagnation in the stomach and intestines, which facilitates the formation of a debris mass. Additionally, food debris mass may occur in children with mental disorders who chew on hair or swallow fibrous food residues.
The first signs of the condition include loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, and weight loss. When food debris is present in the stomach, children often experience abdominal pain, epigastric pain or periumbilical pain, crampy pain, frequent vomiting of yellowish fluid. Abdominal examination may reveal a movable, non-tender mass in the epigastric region or left hypochondrium.
Endoscopy of the stomach and intestines can help detect food debris masses early at the jejunum and stomach; these are usually solid masses that adhere firmly with a shape conforming to the stomach and intestinal cavity.
To prevent the risk of forming food debris masses in the gastrointestinal tract, attention must be paid to children’s eating habits. Foods should be cooked thoroughly and soft. When eating, children must chew well, avoid eating too quickly or swallowing food whole, and limit the intake of fruits and vegetables high in tannins and fiber, especially for children with a history of stomach or intestinal surgery.
Associate Professor DAO NGOC DIEN
