Natural history of chronic duodenitis: incidence in Nigerians.

Chronic peptic duodenitis accounted for four percent of endoscopic diagnoses of upper gastrointestinal disorders in lbadan, Nigeria. This clinicopathologic entity was a frequent cause of x-ray negative dyspepsia and was a cause of significant bleeding in two of the 26 patients included in this study. None progressed to frank duodenal ulceration during the follow-up period. It is emphasized that accurate assessment of dyspepsia must include endoscopic and histologic examinations.