[Decrease in postoperative mortality caused by bleeding peptic ulcer]

Hemorrhage continues to be a serious complication of peptic ulcer, especially in patients over 65 years. Gastric location, delay in the surgical intervention, the amount and characteristics of hemorrhage and the use of laborious resection techniques are factors that worsen the prognosis and contribute to increased mortality. In the authors' experience, the comparison of two series separated in time led them to conclude that restriction of the use of resection techniques for gastric ulcers and improved medical-surgical collaboration, facilitated by use of a special protocol for bleeding peptic ulcers, has reduced mortality from 12.5% to 4.08% in 49 patients operated in the last 3 years.