Effectiveness of implementation of gastric and duodenal ulcer clinical protocol in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The introduction of a clinical protocol for the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcer (GDU) may be one of the solutions for the high morbidity and complications of these diseases. This descriptive study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the GDU clinical protocol in the Kyrgyz Republic introduced in 2002. The effectiveness of the introduction of the clinical protocol into primary health care practice was assessed by the numbers of hospitalizations and operations due to GDU. As the result of the clinical protocol implementation for the treatment of GDU, the numbers of hospitalizations and operations have decreased in Kyrgyz Republic. The total number of hospitalized GDU patients was reduced in 2003 by 12% from the 2001 level. The number of operations due to GDU complications decreased in 2003 by 30% compared with 2001. The protocol-driven approach showed the potential to become a feasible method to improve the quality of health care in Kyrgyzstan. However, the prospective long-term effects, including their cost-effectiveness, should be evaluated in Kyrgyzstan.