Treatment of bleeding from peptic ulcers

Written by Chen Rong
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 14, 2024
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Gastrointestinal ulcer bleeding may require different management based on the volume of bleeding.

With significant bleeding, the condition becomes critical and rapidly changing. Priorities include anti-shock measures, rapid replenishment of blood volume, maintaining a supine position, keeping the airway clear to avoid aspiration during vomiting, providing oxygen if necessary, fasting during active bleeding, closely monitoring the patient's vital signs, immediate blood typing and cross-matching, promptly establishing an effective intravenous infusion pathway, and replenishing blood volume. Medications such as PPIs or H2 receptor antagonists can be used; the former should be chosen for severe bleeding and administered intravenously.

About 80% of patients with gastrointestinal ulcer bleeding may stop bleeding without any special treatment, while the remaining patients may experience persistent bleeding or rebleeding. Emergency gastroscopy is crucial to determine if the patient is at high risk of rebleeding or has ongoing bleeding and can include therapeutic endoscopic interventions such as drug injections, electrocoagulation, and the use of hemostatic clips. If endoscopic treatment fails, the gastric and duodenal arteries may be embolized via arterial intervention. If pharmacologic, endoscopic, and interventional treatments cannot control the bleeding, and there is ongoing significant blood loss threatening the patient's life, surgical treatment may be necessary.

(Specific medications should be administered under the guidance of a physician.)

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
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Why does a peptic ulcer bleed?

Peptic ulcers include gastric ulcers, duodenal bulb ulcers, and so on. Gastrointestinal bleeding is one of the common complications of peptic ulcers, usually caused by the ulcer being relatively large or deep, invading the blood vessels, leading to vessel rupture and resulting in bleeding. For minor bleeding, the patient may not have any discomfort symptoms, primarily indicated by black stools or a positive fecal occult blood test. If there is substantial bleeding, it can lead to symptoms such as vomiting blood. Such cases need attention and usually require hospitalization for observation and treatment. Sometimes, recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding may require surgical treatment.

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Causes of Peptic Ulcers

Peptic ulcers, which include gastric ulcers, duodenal bulb ulcers, complex ulcers, and anastomotic ulcers following gastric surgery, are among the common gastrointestinal diseases. It is currently believed that the infection of Helicobacter pylori is closely associated with gastritis, ulcer activity, gastric cancer, etc., thus, Helicobacter pylori infection is considered the main cause of gastric ulcers. Other factors, such as excessive smoking and alcohol consumption, can also lead to peptic ulcers. Poor dietary and living habits, such as binge eating, excessive consumption of cold, greasy, spicy, or alcoholic foods, can cause this condition as well; moreover, excessive emotional stress, such as long-term mental pressure, can also lead to the development of peptic ulcers.

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Can gastric lavage be performed for peptic ulcer?

Peptic ulcer is one of the common upper gastrointestinal diseases, including gastric ulcer, duodenal bulb ulcer, compound ulcer, etc. In this case, since the ulcer site is often deep, sometimes reaching the base layer, even the serous layer of the gastric mucosa. If gastric lavage is performed too vigorously, gastric perforation may occur. Therefore, generally, gastric lavage is not advocated, but in a few cases, such as organophosphate pesticide poisoning or other drug poisonings, etc. If gastric lavage is not performed promptly, it often leads to serious complications, even life-threatening. Therefore, gastric lavage is still needed in a few cases, and in these situations, the procedure must be gentle and not too prolonged.

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Written by Zhu Dan Hua
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Can a peptic ulcer heal itself?

Peptic ulcers, commonly referred to as stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers, are relatively common in clinical settings and generally have a good prognosis. For simple peptic ulcers, patients usually do not exhibit common symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting blood, bloody stools, abdominal distension, vomiting, etc., and these can often heal on their own. However, if a patient experiences typical upper abdominal symptoms like vomiting blood, bloody stools, or significant abdominal pain, especially pain in the lower back, it is advisable for the patient to seek timely treatment at a local hospital for further clarification. In treating this condition, a few points should be noted: First, pay attention to diet and rest, it’s advisable to eat smaller, more frequent meals and avoid spicy foods and abstain from smoking and alcohol. Second, if peptic ulcers are suspected, one might consider using supplementary oral medications, such as antacids or gastroprotective drugs etc., which generally lead to a good prognosis. Of course, if the patient does not exhibit any special symptoms, regular observation may suffice.

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Can peptic ulcers become cancerous?

Peptic ulcers generally refer to gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers. It is generally believed that most gastric ulcers are benign, but a small portion of patients may develop cancer, approximately 3%-5%, especially in middle-aged and elderly patients. If the ulcers recur and continue to enlarge, there needs to be vigilance for potential malignancy. However, duodenal ulcers generally do not become cancerous and are more common in young people, presenting symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, and bloody stools. Therefore, for peptic ulcers, most are benign, but a small fraction of patients may have ulcers that evolve into cancerous ones, presenting as benign peptic ulcers, which calls for caution, especially in middle-aged and elderly patients. Therefore, it is recommended that patients regularly treat gastric and duodenal ulcers. If the treatment period is prolonged and peptic ulcers recur frequently with poor outcomes, patients should be alert to the potential for cancer and are advised to undergo gastroscopic examination and biopsy for further clarification.