Bleeding Peptic Ulcer

Peptic ulcer is the most common cause of acute hemorrhage in the upper gastrointestinal tract, accounting for about 50 percent of cases¹–¹⁴. There are approximately 150,000 hospitalizations per year in the United States for evaluation and treatment of bleeding ulcers (based on 1985 estimates and excluding federal hospitals)¹⁵. Although hospitalization and surgery for uncomplicated ulcers have decreased in the United States and Europe over the past 20 to 30 years, the number of hospital admissions for hemorrhage associated with ulcers has remained relatively unchanged¹⁵–¹⁷. It is noteworthy that the incidence of bleeding ulcers appears to…