Predictors of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in 893 patients with benign-appearing gastric ulcers

Background & Aims: Previous studies have suggested that peptic ulcers that present with hemorrhage are associated with advanced age, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) use, and absence of abdominal pain.Our aim was to confirm these associations and to identify additional predictors of hemorrhage on presentation in a large cohort of patients with benignappearing gastric ulcers.l~¢lethods: All patients who were diagnosed with a benign-appearing gastric ulcer by endoscopy at our hospital from January 1992 to March 1997 were identified.Data were collected by reviewing endoscopy records, patient charts, and pathology reports.Acute upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage was defined as either hematemesis, coffee ground emesis, or melena associated with > 2 g/dL decrease in hemoglobin.We Compared patients with acute upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage to those without bleeding in terms of demographic characteristics, presenting symptoms, and the prevalence of