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

Table 1 The incidence of peptic ulcer bleeding

	2002	2005	2008
Number	2910	3023	3121
No. of GDU	493	421	353
Rate of GDU (%)	16.9	13.9	11.3
No. peptic ulcer bleeding	24	38	21
Rate of peptic ulcer bleeding (%)	4.87	9.03	5.95

The rate of GDU significantly decreased during the period studied (P < 0.001). The rate of peptic ulcer bleeding significantly increased during the first three years and significantly decreased during the last three years.GDU: Gastroduodenal ulcer.

Table 2 Clinical characteristics of patients with peptic ulcer bleeding

	2002	2005	2008	P value
Cases	24	38	21
Age (average ± SD)	63.1 ± 17.6	69.1 ± 15.8	65.9 ± 15.2	0.738
Male n (%)	18 (75.0)	25 (84.8)	15 (71.4)	0.75
Gastric ulcer n (%)	20 (83.3)	31 (81.6)	16 (76.2)	0.824
Haematemesis n (%)	10 (50.0)	10 (30.3)	7 (33.3)	0.433
Melena n (%)	13 (65.0)	26 (78.8)	14 (66.7)	0.534
Vascular disease n (%)	7 (29.2)	13 (34.2)	13 (61.9)	0.048

Clinical characteristics of patients with peptic ulcer bleeding. There was significantly increased in vascular disease over the period studied.

Table 3 Risk factors of peptic ulcer bleeding

	2002	2005	2008	P value
Helicobacter pylori n (%)	20/24 (83.3)	20/38 (72.6)	15/21 (71.4)	0.039
NSAIDs n (%)	3 (12.5)	11 (28.9)	10 (47.6)	0.034
Low-dose aspirin n (%)	2 (8.3)	5 (13.2)	3 (14.3)	0.832
NSAIDs and/or	5 (16.7)	16 (42.1)	13 (61.9)	0.021
Low-dose aspirin n (%)

The H. pylori infection rate significantly decreased. On the other hand, the proportion of NSAIDs users was significantly increased. The proportion of low-dose aspirin users demonstrated no significant changes. NSAIDs:Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.