The Korean Journal of Gastroenterology  2012;59(5):338-346

doi:10.4166/kjg.2012.59.5.338

Clinical Characteristics of Patients Diagnosed as Peptic Ulcer Disease in the Third Referral Center in 2007.

Jin Joo KIM 1 ; Nayoung KIM ; Hyun Kyung PARK ; Hyun Jin JO ; Cheol Min SHIN ; Sang Hyup LEE ; Young Soo PARK ; Jin Hyeok HWANG ; Jin Wook KIM ; Sook Hyang JEONG ; Dong Ho LEE ; Jung Mogg KIM ; Ji Hyun LEE ; Hyun Chae JUNG ; In Sung SONG

Affiliations

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Keywords

Peptic ulcer; Risk factors; Helicobacter pylori; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Bleeding

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

MeSH

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In spite of the improvement of medical treatment for the peptic ulcer disease (PUD), PUD is still one of the common upper gastrointestinal diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk factors and general characteristics of Korean patients diagnosed as PUD at a single third referral center. METHODS: A total of 310 patients, diagnosed as PUD through endoscopy during one year of 2007 at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital were, retrospectively, evaluated regarding age, gender, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) positivity, clinical manifestations, comorbidities and medications. In addition, PUD was analyzed in the aspect of ulcer location, type of visit, gastrointestinal bleeding, and age. RESULTS: The mean age was 61.5 years old (48.1% over 65) and 208 (66.7%) patients were men. The rate of H. pylori infection was 47.8%, and any ulcerogenic medication history such as antiplatelet agents and NSAIDs was found to be 21.0% (65 patients). The rate of idiopathic peptic ulcer without evidence of H. pylori and NSAIDs was found to be 40.6% (126 patients). Among 310 PUD patients, bleeding symptoms such as melena, hematemesis and hematochezia occurred in 110 patients (35.5%). CONCLUSIONS: PUD was more prevalent in the elderly patients and frequently associated with bleeding. Substantial proportion of PUD patients had neither H. pylori infection nor history of ulcerogenic medications, suggesting of increasing prevalence of idiopathic PUD.