Gastroduodenal perforation.

The cause and management of gastroduodenal perforation have changed as a result of increasing use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatories and improved pharmacologic treatment of acid hypersecretion as well as the recognition and treatment of Helicobacter pylori. As a result of the reduction in ulcer recurrence with medical therapy, the surgical approach to patients with gastroduodenal perforation has also changed over the last 3 decades, with ulcer-reducing surgery being performed infrequently.