Seasonal variation in the incidence of peptic ulcer and esophageal variceal bleeding in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND

Seasonal variation of peptic ulcer and peptic ulcer bleeding has been reported in many western countries. To investigate the seasonal variation of peptic ulcer (PU) and esophageal variceal (EV) bleeding in Taiwan, this retrospective study was conducted.

METHODS

Seven hundred and forty-six cases of gastric ulcer (GU) bleeding, 777 cases of duodenal ulcer (DU) bleeding and 264 cases of EV bleeding were recruited from January 1, 1991 to December 31, 1992. Patients were sent to the Medical Emergency Room (MER) for hematemesis and/or melena. Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopic examinations were completed within 24 hours for all patients.

RESULTS

Significant seasonal variation was found in the incidence of PU and EV bleeding. PU bleeding was most often seen in March and EV bleeding was most often seen in February.

CONCLUSIONS

The possible mechanism for the cyclic change of PU and EV bleeding is unclear, but clearly more manpower is needed during the months of February and March for better management of the increasing number of cases of PU and EV bleeding.