The aetiology of bleeding peptic ulcer--as observed in a district general hospital

A review was made of the hospital case notes of 124 patients admitted with symptoms of upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage due to bleeding peptic ulcer over a five-year period. A high proportion of the patients were found to be elderly and female, as observed by Walt et al 1986. This finding was more pronounced if the source of the bleed was a gastric ulcer. Many of these elderly patients had been on anti-inflammatory drugs at the time of presentation. Concomitant treatment with cimetidine or demulcents did not seem to prevent episodes of bleeding. Many patients on anti-inflammatory drugs bled repeatedly after apparently adequate medical or surgical treatment.