# Any medical types want to WAG as to this cause of death?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medical-types-want-to-wag-as-to-this-cause-of-death/508863>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 4, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medical-types-want-to-wag-as-to-this-cause-of-death/508863 "2009-09-04T14:45:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medical-types-want-to-wag-as-to-this-cause-of-death/508863/1 "2009-09-04T14:45:32Z")

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I’m doing some genealogical research and came across the following cause of death:

This is a male, 38 years old, died in 1940:

General Peritonitis  
Perforated Gastric Ulcer  
Abcess General Sepsis  
Pneumonia–Post Operative–/Lung

I understand some of that, but does anyone have a WAG as to what the original cause of all of this could have been? Could it have been alcoholism?

ETA: And does anyone want to take another WAG as to the prognosis of this disease with modern medical technology?

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**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medical-types-want-to-wag-as-to-this-cause-of-death/508863/2 "2009-09-04T15:00:24Z")

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Looks like he had a stomach ulcer that perforated, i.e. broke open. This allowed his stomach contents to pass into his intra abdominal cavity leading to a body wide infection. It appears that they surgically tried to correct the perforation, but the patient died post op from pneumonia. The pneumonia could have been a result of the first infection, or something he picked up in the hospital after surgery. Alcoholism can cause ulcers, but they can also form on their own.

If his stomach ulcer perforated today he would be in serious life threatening condition. His survival odds would be better due to quicker medical intervention, cleaner hospitals, and better drugs.

General Peritonitis - Inflammation of membrane lining abdominal cavity  
Perforated Gastric Ulcer - An gastric ulcer is an erosion of the mucous membrane in the stomach. Perforated means that it ruptured, i.e. the stomach split open.  
Abcess General Sepsis - Sepsis is a full body infection. Not sure what the abscess refers to in this case.  
Pneumonia–Post Operative–/Lung - Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs resulting in an inability to breathe. A very common cause of death to people with weakened immune systems.

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**Author:** ![LunaticFringette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/fbc32d/32.png) [@LunaticFringette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunaticFringette)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medical-types-want-to-wag-as-to-this-cause-of-death/508863/3 "2009-09-05T00:20:31Z")

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Although, today, if his stomach ulcer had been determined to be the result of H. pylori bacterial infection (helicobacter pylori), a regime of proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics should have stopped the ulcer, the perforation and other complications.

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**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medical-types-want-to-wag-as-to-this-cause-of-death/508863/4 "2009-09-05T00:26:18Z")

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I read “General Peritonitis” as Periodontitis and wondered what a gum infection had to do with anything.

This is one of the reasons med school never would have worked for me.

> [@LunaticFringette](#):
>
> proton pump

Like in Ghostbusters?

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**Author:** ![LunaticFringette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/fbc32d/32.png) [@LunaticFringette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunaticFringette)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-medical-types-want-to-wag-as-to-this-cause-of-death/508863/5 "2009-09-05T00:37:56Z")

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> [@wierdaaron](#):
>
> Like in Ghostbusters?

If only it were that much fun!! But alas, the side effects would be a bit of overkill.