Characteristics of Hemorrhagic Peptic Ulcers in Patients Receiving Antithrombotic/Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drug Therapy

• Published in: Gut and liver Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 423 - 426
• Main Authors: Kazuhiko Nakamura, Kazuya Akahoshi, Toshiaki Ochiai, Keishi Komori, Kazuhiro Haraguchi, Munehiro Tanaka, Norimoto Nakamura, Yoshimasa Tanaka, Kana Kakigao, Haruei Ogino, Eikichi Ihara, Hirotada Akih
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 대한소화기내시경학회 30.10.2012
• Subjects: Anti-inflammatory agents; Antithrombotic therapy; Endoscopic; Hemorrhagic ulcer; non-steroidal; Peptic ulcer
• ISSN: 1976-2283

Background/Aims: Antithrombotic/nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) therapies increase the incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The features of hemorrhagic peptic ulcer disease in patients receiving antithrombotic/NSAID therapies were investigated. Methods: We investigated the medical records of 485 consecutive patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and were diagnosed with hemorrhagic gastroduodenal ulcers. The patients treated with antithrombotic agents/NSAIDs were categorized as the antithrombotic therapy (AT) group (n=213). The patients who were not treated with antithrombotics/NSAIDs were categorized as the control (C) group (n=263). The clinical characteristics were compared between the groups. Results: The patients in the AT group were significantly older than those in the C group (p<0.0001). The hemoglobin levels before/without transfusion were significantly lower in the AT group (8.24±2.41 g/dL) than in the C group (9.44±2.95 g/dL) (p<0.0001). After adjusting for age, the difference in the hemoglobin levels between the two groups remained significant (p=0.0334). The transfusion rates were significantly higher in the AT group than in the C group (p=0.0002). However, the outcome of endoscopic hemostasis was similar in the AT and C groups. Conclusions: Patients with hemorrhagic peptic ulcers receiving antithrombotic/NSAID therapies were exposed to a greater risk of severe bleeding that required transfusion but were still treatable by endoscopy. (Gut Liver 2012;6:423-426)