Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines is a duodenal ulcer.[1] The most common symptoms of a duodenal ulcer are waking at night with upper abdominal pain, and upper abdominal pain that improves with eating.[1] With a gastric ulcer, the pain may worsen with eating.[7] The pain is often described as a burning or dull ache.[1] Other symptoms include belching, vomiting, weight loss, or poor appetite.[1] About a third of older people with peptic ulcers have no symptoms.[1] Complications may include bleeding, perforation, and blockage of the stomach.[2] Bleeding occurs in as many as 15% of cases.[2]
Diet does not play an important role in either causing or preventing ulcers.[8] Treatment includes stopping smoking, stopping use of NSAIDs, stopping alcohol, and taking medications to decrease stomach acid.[1] The medication used to decrease acid is usually either a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or an H2 blocker, with four weeks of treatment initially recommended.[1] Ulcers due to H. pylori are treated with a combination of medications, such as amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and a PPI.[4]Antibiotic resistance is increasing and thus treatment may not always be effective.[4] Bleeding ulcers may be treated by endoscopy, with open surgery typically only used in cases in which it is not successful.[2]
Peptic ulcers are present in around 4% of the population.[1] New ulcers were found in around 87.4 million people worldwide during 2015.[5] About 10% of people develop a peptic ulcer at some point in their life.[9] Peptic ulcers resulted in 267,500 deaths in 2015, down from 327,000 in 1990.[6][10] The first description of a perforated peptic ulcer was in 1670, in Princess Henrietta of England.[2]H. pylori was first identified as causing peptic ulcers by Barry Marshall and Robin Warren in the late 20th century,[4] a discovery for which they received the Nobel Prize in 2005.[11]
^ abcdeMilosavljevic T, Kostić-Milosavljević M, Jovanović I, Krstić M (2011). "Complications of peptic ulcer disease". Digestive Diseases. 29 (5): 491–3. doi:10.1159/000331517. PMID22095016. S2CID25464311.
^ abSteinberg KP (June 2002). "Stress-related mucosal disease in the critically ill patient: risk factors and strategies to prevent stress-related bleeding in the intensive care unit". Critical Care Medicine. 30 (6 Suppl): S362–4. doi:10.1097/00003246-200206001-00005. PMID12072662.
^ abcdWang AY, Peura DA (October 2011). "The prevalence and incidence of Helicobacter pylori-associated peptic ulcer disease and upper gastrointestinal bleeding throughout the world". Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America. 21 (4): 613–35. doi:10.1016/j.giec.2011.07.011. PMID21944414.