Frequency of peptic ulcers in patients with portal hypertension.

To find the frequency of peptic ulceration in portal hypertension, 137 patients with portal hypertension were studied retrospectively. Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, other malignancies or underlying severe systemic disease were excluded and the remaining 114 patients were included in the study. There were 81 males (mean age 49.1 +/- 13.7 years) and 33 females (mean age 52.9 +/- 10 years). Portal hypertension was secondary to viral liver disease in 75%. Fifty-seven patients had no evidence of peptic ulcers (group I) and another 57 patients (group II) had peptic ulcers diagnosed during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding age, sex, Child-Pugh score or variceal size. Duodenal ulcers were found in 24% while gastric ulcers were found in 4.4%; other endoscopic findings included erosive gastritis and duodenitis in 21% and 18.4% respectively. Twelve percent of the patients from group II developed bleeding from the ulcers and the majority of bleeding ulcers responded to conservative treatment. The study concludes that the frequency of peptic ulcers in patients with portal hypertension is high. Bleeding peptic ulcers respond to conservative treatment.