Abstract
We recently encountered an interesting patient in whom linear erosions on longitudinal linear redness were observed in the stomach at endoscopy (Figure 1). As the redness was supposed to be accompanied by acute gastric mucosal lesion (AGML), we termed the redness "Red Line" (R-L), and studied its clinical significance. We collected cases with R-L on endoscopic films retrospectively. As the clarity of R-L was varied, it was graded as shown in Table 1, Figure 2 and 3. Various clinical aspects were searched in the charts of patients with discrete R-L which is more than grade II. There were 307 cases with discrete R-L and its incidence was about 9% as shown in Table 2. There was a preponderance in the 3rd to 5th decades (Figure 4). The distribution rate of discrete R-L in the stomach was 31% in the antrum and 72% in the body (Table 3). The associated disorders of the gastrointestinal tract were shown in Table 4 and those other than the GI tract inTable 5. The patients with diseases which could explain their clinical complaints as active peptic ulcer, gastric cancer, cholelithiasis etc were excluded. Hence, 203 cases entered into a further study. The symptoms of the 203 cases were shown in Table 6. There were 45 symptom free cases (22.2%). Figure 5 shows the cumulative per cent of improved patients. Within 2 months from the onset, 96.2% of symptoms improved. As shown in Figure 6, even though the interval from the onset to endoscopy was short, a great deal of R-L was clearly identified. Two cases were presented in Figure 7 and 8. In endoscopic appearance, R-L is similar to "comb redness" or the other term of "Kammrotung". The latter has been considered to be a sign of chronic superficial gastritis. In the present study, however, it is likely that a great deal of R-L appeared and may subside in close relation to the clinical course of AGML. Therefore, R-L is supposed to be one of endoscopic signs of AGML.
