[Chronic gastric ulcer in a child with Glanzmann thrombasthenia. Usefulness of prostaglandin E2].

Gastric ulcers in children are often seen as a result of an imbalance between nocive factors and the resistance of the mucosa. Glanzmann's thromboastenia is a defect in platelet aggregation and its nature may be associated to local factors which precipitate or perpetuate bleeding. Prostaglandins are hormones of local action which inhibit the secretion of acid and therefore protect the mucosa. We report a case of an 18 year old male youngster with Glanzmann's thromboastenia and a gastric ulcer previously unsuccessfully treated with cimetidine, aluminum hydroxide solution, ranitidine, sucralfate and later controlled with PGE2. In sum, the usefulness of the cytoprotecting effects of the prostaglandins are successfully evaluated in a young man with platelet aggregation abnormalities.