What Causes Coffee Ground Vomitus?

Autoimmune Conditions

There are a handful of autoimmune conditions that can cause bouts of ground coffee vomitus. An autoimmune disorder is a disorder where the immune system malfunctions and attacks the body's own healthy cells as if they were foreign invaders. Autoimmune hepatitis is the variation where the immune system attacks healthy cells of the liver, causing high blood pressure in the portal vein, which adverts blood to other vessels in the stomach and esophageal regions. The vessels burst and cause blood to come up in vomit. Another autoimmune disorder that causes coffee ground vomitus is autoimmune atrophic gastritis, where the immune system attacks healthy specialized cells in the stomach. This causes ulcers to form and bleeding in the stomach from compromised lining, and blood to come up in the vomit in the form of coffee ground vomitus.

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Cirrhosis

An individual who experiences a type of vomiting with a coffee ground-like appearance may be affected by cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is advanced stage scarring of the liver tissues that can be the result of numerous liver conditions and diseases. When a liver condition causes damage to the cells that make up the organ, these tissues attempt to repair themselves. The repair is made with tissues that are denser and more fibrous than the original tissues, which is what causes scarring. A liver that is scarred to an advanced stage may cause the development of dilated blood vessels in the duodenum or another part of the digestive tract called varices. Varices form because large amounts of blood are unable to move through the main vessels in the liver that has become stiff from advanced fibrosis. This mechanism causes the blood vessels in the liver and close to the liver to bulge and become weak. Weakened blood vessels can leak blood or rupture into the duodenum, which coagulates and takes on a coffee-ground appearance that can be seen upon vomiting.

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