Quality of Life in duodenal ulcer.

A Quality of Life questionnaire was administered to 200 duodenal ulcer patients taking daily H2 antagonists and compared with the responses given by 50 newly diagnosed duodenal ulcer patients. Assessment involved 17 questions which attempted to measure ulcer symptoms, emotional and social function. Age, sex and percentage of smokers were identical in the two groups. Patients on long-term daily H2 antagonists showed high Quality of Life scores and this is hardly surprising, given the safety, efficacy and economy of H2 antagonists. By contrast, the low scores demonstrated in newly diagnosed ulcer patients reflect the troublesome nature of ulcer pain and the disruption it causes to social and emotional performance.