Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 14, 2013; 19(42): 7426-7432
Published online Nov 14, 2013. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i42.7426
Hemorrhagic gastric and duodenal ulcers after the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster
Kenichi Yamanaka, Hiroyuki Miyatani, Yukio Yoshida, Shinichi Asabe, Toru Yoshida, Misaki Nakano, Shin Obara, Hidehiko Endo
Kenichi Yamanaka, Misaki Nakano, Department of Gastroenterology, Iwate Prefectural Kamaishi Hospital, Kamaishi 026-8550, Japan
Hiroyuki Miyatani, Yukio Yoshida, Shinichi Asabe, Department of Gastroenterology, Jichi Medical University, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama 330-8503, Japan
Toru Yoshida, Shin Obara, Hidehiko Endo, Department of Surgery, Iwate Prefectural Kamaishi Hospital, Kamaishi 026-8550, Japan
Author contributions: Yamanaka K, Miyatani H, Yoshida Y, Yoshida T, Nakano M, Obara S, Endo H designed the research; Yamanaka K performed the research and analyzed the data, and wrote the paper; Asabe S revised the manuscript critically.
Correspondence to: Kenichi Yamanaka, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Iwate Prefectual Kamaishi Hospital, 10-483-6 Kasshi-cho, Kamaishi-shi, Iwate 026-8550, Japan. stfchono@hotmail.com
Telephone: +81-193-252011 Fax: +81-193-239479
Received: May 20, 2013
Revised: September 18, 2013
Accepted: September 29, 2013
Published online: November 14, 2013
Processing time: 182 Days and 2.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: We determined the characteristics of hemorrhagic gastric/duodenal ulcers in the post-earthquake period within one medical district. We divided hemorrhagic gastric/duodenal ulcers into two groups, the acute stress phase group, consisting of the first month after the earthquake disaster, and the chronic stress phase group, from the second through the sixth month. We concluded that severe stress caused by this earthquake disaster exacerbated the characteristics of hemorrhagic gastric/duodenal ulcers.