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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Apr 27, 2025; 17(4): 101682
Published online Apr 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i4.101682
Published online Apr 27, 2025. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v17.i4.101682
Perforated peptic ulcer in pregnancy and puerperium: A systematic review
Goran Augustin, Department of Surgery, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Jure Krstulović, Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Split, Split 21000, Croatia
Jure Krstulović, Ante Tavra, Zrinka Hrgović, University of Split School of Medicine, Split 21000, Croatia
Author contributions: Augustin G and Krstulovic J designed the research; Tavra A, Hrgović Z, and Krstulovic J performed the research; Augustin G, Tavra A, and Hrgović Z analyzed the data; Hrgović Z, Tavra A, Krstulovic J, and Augustin G wrote the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Goran Augustin, MD, PhD, Academic Editor, Department of Surgery, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.
Received: September 23, 2024
Revised: February 18, 2025
Accepted: March 5, 2025
Published online: April 27, 2025
Processing time: 186 Days and 22.2 Hours
Revised: February 18, 2025
Accepted: March 5, 2025
Published online: April 27, 2025
Processing time: 186 Days and 22.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The correct diagnosis of perforated peptic ulcer in pregnancy was frequently delayed. Almost all patients presented during the third trimester or the first 8 days postpartum. Antepartum incidence increased as the pregnancy advanced. Common symptoms were abdominal tenderness and distension. Early imaging, including plain abdominal X-ray and abdominal ultrasound, may help in earlier and more accurate diagnosis. Early intervention reduced fetal mortality but without influence on maternal mortality. Maternal mortality did not depend on the use of X-ray imaging, perforation location, delivery type, trimester of presentation, and maternal age. Exploratory laparoscopy was never performed during pregnancy, only postpartum.