IN A REVIEW of the literature concerning rupture of the stomach in the newborn infant, Herbut1 found 15 cases occurring prior to 1943 and reported a 16th case. Since that time, additional cases have been reported by Pendergrass and Booth,2 Burnett and Halpert,3 Tudor,4 Wright and Scott,5 Leger and co-workers,6 Gottlieb and co-workers,7 Ross and co-workers8 (2 cases), Potter9 (3 cases), and Greene and Gose10 (2 cases), bringing the total of reported cases to 29.
The most frequent cause for the rupture would appear to be peptic ulceration. Thus, in 14 of the cases cited by Herbut and in 5 cases reported since that time,* the rupture was believed secondary to peptic ulceration. One of these7 was associated with intracranial hemorrhage. In three cases,† a congenital defect in the musculature of the stomach was believed responsible for the rupture,