[Painful syndrome in patients with ulcer disease in relation to intragastric pH].

Painful abdominal syndrome and diurnal fluctuations of pH values were investigated in 125 patients with different clinical variants of duodenal ulcer disease (DUD) in the phase of exacerbation. Fifty patients had uncomplicated DUD; it was complicated in the remaining 75 patients. The clinical course of the uncomplicated disease was characterized by moderate to severe painful hyperacidity syndrome coincident with the period of exacerbation, marked daily variations of pH, and manifest duodenogastric reflux (DGR). These made the patients opportunely apply for medical aid while acidification and alkalinization processes in the stomach prevented the development of complications. The complicated disease was associated with short-term pain or its absence, monotonic diurnal variations of acid production and alkalinization, weak DGR. Taken together, these clinical features explain why such patients less frequently apply for medical aid and eventually develop destructive complications.