A study of the changes in the cause of peptic ulcer bleeding

AIM: To clarify the frequency of and changes in the cause of peptic ulcer bleeding. METHODS: This study retrospectively evaluated the out-and inpatients who underwent endoscopy between 2002 to 2008. The subjects were patients presenting with peptic ulcer bleeding. The details of these patients were obtained from their endoscopic reports and medical records. RESULTS: The rates of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection were significantly low (P = 0.039), while the proportion of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) users and vascular disease significantly increased over the period studied (P = 0.034 and P = 0.04, respectively). However, there was no significant difference in the proportion of low-dose aspirin users (P = 0.832). CONCLUSION: It's found that the primary cause of peptic ulcer bleeding changed from H. pylori infection to use of NSAIDs over the 7-year period of study. It seems that the number of low-dose aspirin users has increased with the increase in the proportion of vascular disease. It is necessary to take measures to prevent peptic ulcer bleeding among NSAIDs and low dose aspirin users. (C) 2012 Baishideng. All rights reserved.