Peptic ulcer is known to rank very high among the diseases of the gastrointestinal system which seem most prevalent in this country. Although it's incidence in this country is difficult to know with any degree of precision at present because few statistical reports are available, it is frequently encountered in our daily practice. Many studies on the pathogenesis of the disease from the clincial aspect as well as the experimental, have been undertaken by many investigators. No definite conclusions, however, have been arrived at, and thus more diverse and intensified research is urgently required. The following studies, carried out in an effort to further elucidate the pathogenic mechanism, are reported here.
Female ; Human ; Male ; Peptic Ulcer/*etiology/pathology

A 11-year-old child diagnosed as chronic tonsillitis and adenoid hypertrophy underwent adeno-tonsillectomy under general anesthesia. After surgery, patient complained with abdominal discomfort, paleness and vomiting, which presented as the old black contents. Complete blood count showed: 45.2 g/L, hemoglobin of red blood cells 2.57 x 10(12)/L, An emergency gastroscopy confirmed gastric ulcer with hemorrage. Hemorrage was controlled and complete blood count results restored to normal after supportive therapy. Gastric ulcer completely recovered two weeks after discharge.
Adenoidectomy ; Child ; Humans ; Male ; Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage ; etiology ; Postoperative Complications ; Stomach Ulcer ; etiology ; Tonsillectomy

Ghrelin, a novel gastrointestinal peptide with 28 amino acids, is secreted from the A-like cells of the gastric fundus. This peptide hormone does not only promote the release of growth hormone, but also stimulates food intake, gastric motility and cardiac output. Increased plasma ghrelin level has been reported in patients with upper gastrointestinal (GI) disease or in their disease animal model, suggesting its important role in the pathogenesis of upper GI disease.
Appetite/*physiology ; Cysteamine/metabolism ; Dyspepsia/etiology ; *Eating ; Gastrointestinal Diseases/*etiology ; Ghrelin/*physiology ; Humans ; Peptic Ulcer/etiology

Gastrointestinal complications may follow organ transplantation. A patient who underwent heart lung transplantation due to patent ductus arteriosus and Eisenmenger's syndrome had an episode of acute cardiac rejection and was treated with a bolus injection of methylprednisolone followed by a high oral dose of prednisone. On the 22nd postoperative day, the patient complained of acute abdominal pain with muscular rigidity and a plain chest x-ray showed free air in the right subdiaphragmatic area. Under the suspicion of bowel perforation, an emergency laparotomy was performed and the perforated stomach had a wedge-shaped resection that included the perforation. Following the laparotomy, the postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged on post-laparotomy day 10.
Adult ; Heart-Lung Transplantation/*adverse effects ; Human ; Male ; Peptic Ulcer Perforation/*etiology/*surgery ; Stomach Ulcer/*surgery

No abstract available.
Adolescent ; Emphysema/etiology* ; Face ; Human ; Male ; Mediastinal Emphysema/etiology ; Neck ; Peptic Ulcer Perforation/complications* ; Pneumoperitoneum/etiology ; Stomach Ulcer/complications*

Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative bacterium that was first isolated in 1982. Since then, H. pylori infection in humans has been shown to be associated with gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric carcinoma, and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma as well. The epidemiology, transmission, and pathogenicity of H. pylori has been a subject of intensive study. Successful treatment improves the cure rate of peptic ulcerations and treatment with antimicrobials also decreases the recurrence rate of these diseases. Better regimens having less toxicity and a good eradication rate have also been developed. A better understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms relating to H. pylori induced mucosal damages would result in more options for the prevention of peptic ulcers and carcinogenesis. Korea has a relatively high incidence of H. pylori infection and gastric cancer. Growing interest has developed in view of its importance in being associated with various gastroduodenal diseases. Furthermore, along with a high incidence of H. pylori-related disease in Korea, because the interaction between H. pylori, host factors and environmental factors is important in disease pathogenesis, we need to have precise data on the characteristics of H. pylori-related diseases that occur in Korea. In the present report we review the epidemiology, transmission route, diagnosis, pathogenesis, treatment methods and relationship with gastroduodenal diseases with in special references to basic and clinical data that have been published.
Dyspepsia/etiology ; Helicobacter Infections/*complications/diagnosis/etiology ; *Helicobacter pylori ; Human ; Korea ; Peptic Ulcer/etiology ; Stomach Neoplasms/etiology

Aged ; Cause of Death ; Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; mortality ; Male ; Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage ; etiology ; mortality ; Postoperative Period

Our objective is to describe the characteristic CT findings of gastrointestinal (GI) tract perforations at various levels of the gastrointestinal system. It is beneficial to localize the perforation site as well as to diagnose the presence of bowel perforation for planning the correct surgery. CT has been established as the most valuable imaging technique for identifying the presence, site and cause of the GI tract perforation. The amount and location of extraluminal free air usually differ among various perforation sites. Further, CT findings such as discontinuity of the bowel wall and concentrated free air bubbles in close proximity to the bowel wall can help predict the perforation site. Multidetector CT with the multiplanar reformation images has improved the accuracy of CT for predicting the perforation sites.
Gastrointestinal Tract/*radiography ; Humans ; Intestinal Perforation/etiology/*radiography ; Peptic Ulcer Perforation/*radiography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

The genetic status of cagA, vacA subtype, iceA1, and babA, and the relationship to gastroduodenal diseases were assessed in Helicobacter pylori isolates in Korea. Seventy-six strains of H. pylori were isolated from the antrum and the corpus of 41 adult patients (22 with peptic ulcer and 19 with gastritis). The cagA, iceA1, and babA genes were assessed by polymerase chain reaction and the vacA subtypes were determined by reverse hybridization-line probe assay. The positive rates of 349-bp cagA, 208-bp cagA, iceA1, and babA genes were 97.4%, 96.1%, 84.2%, and 36.1%, respectively. The vacA s1a, s1b, s1c, and s2 variants were detected in 11.8%, 3.9%, 80.4%, and 1.3%, respectively. m1 (78.9%) is more prevalent than m2 (5.3%). The most common vacA genotype was s1c/m1 (61.9%), and 14 isolates (18.4%) contained mixed vacA genotypes from a single biopsy specimen. Twenty-one (60%) of 35 patients were infected with more than two strains of different cagA, iceA1, babA, and vacA genotypes. None of cagA, iceA1, babA, and vacA s1/m1 were associated with peptic ulcer. In conclusion, most H. pylori isolates in Korea carry cagA, iceA1, and vacA s1c/m1 genes, and reside with multiple strains. These genes do not correlate with the peptic ulcer in the Korean patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Bacterial Proteins/*genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Helicobacter pylori/*classification/genetics/pathogenicity ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Peptic Ulcer/*etiology/microbiology

OBJECTIVETo study the long-term results of extended parietal cell vagotomy (EPCV) in the treatment of patients with duodenal ulcer and their complications.

METHODSForm 1979 to 2001, EPCV was performed in 321 patients with duodenal ulcer and their complications. Of these patients 56 had chronic duodenal ulcer, 204 perforation, 16 hemorrhage and 40 stenosis. The following items were evaluated: complications of operation, gastric secretion, gastric emptying, endoscopical and radiographical findings, nutritional status, absorption function, and Visick scale.

RESULTSPostoperative follow-up ranged from 0.5 to 22.0 years (mean 11.3 years) in 289 of the 321 patients with a follow-up rate of 90.0%. Neither operative mortality nor dumping syndrome was noted. Episodic postprandial fullness occurred in 19 patients (6.5%), acid regurgitation in 17 (5.8%) and adhesive ileus in 4 (1.4%). Ulceration recurred in 16 patients (5.5%). Duodenal ulcer was seen in 8 patients (19.5%), hemorrhage in 0 (0%), stenosis in 2 (5.3%), and perforation in 6 (3.1%). Ulcers healed rapidly after medical therapy in 10 patients. Six patients received antrectomy and gastrectomy. In 289 (91.7%) patients of Grade I and II of Visick scale, 191 (95.3%) had perforation.

CONCLUSIONSEPCV is easy to perform with a low rate of post operative complication and ulcer recurrence. It should be a treatment of choice for acute perforation, hemorrhage or stenosis due to duodenal ulcer.

Duodenal Ulcer ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastric Acid ; secretion ; Gastroscopy ; Humans ; Male ; Peptic Ulcer Perforation ; surgery ; Postoperative Complications ; etiology ; Recurrence ; Vagotomy ; adverse effects ; methods