Peptic diseases in Ethiopia: a prospective analysis of 200 endoscopically proven cases

The clinical features of 200 Ethiopian patients with endoscopically confirmed duodenal ulcer were studied according to a prospectively formulated protocol. The peak age incidence of duodenal ulcer is between 30 and 40, about 10 years younger than in the Western world. Unlike reports from other parts of Africa, the male to female ratio is 3:1 and the commonest complication is haemorrhage and not pyloric stenosis. Gastric ulcers and stomal ulcers are rare. Forty-eight per cent of 80 patients, whose blood groups were determined, are "O" positive and 30% "A" positive. The diagnostic value of aggregates of classical signs and symptoms, barium meal and the fibreoptic endoscopes are discussed in detail.