Pyloric stenosis: Hold-up of enteric coated aspirin tablets

The case is presented of a 68-year-old woman with adult hypertrophic pyloric stenosis who ingested 66 enteric coated 650-mg. aspirin tablets over the course of 11 days immediately prior to her admission to hospital. Most of these tablets remained intact in the hugely dilated obstructed stomach and were recovered at emergency gastrotomy. The mechanism of disintegration of enteric coated tablets and the possible consequences of en masse disintegration of these ingested tablets are discussed.