title: Characteristics of hemorrhagic peptic ulcers in patients receiving antithrombotic/nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Bioregulatory Science, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akahoshi
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ochiai
authors.forename: Keishi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Komori
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haraguchi
authors.forename: Munehiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Norimoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Yoshimasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kakigao
authors.forename: Haruei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogino
authors.forename: Eikichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ihara
authors.forename: Hirotada
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akiho
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Motomura
authors.forename: Teppei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kabemura
authors.forename: Naohiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chijiiwa
authors.forename: Tetsuhide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takayanagi