Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage – a prospective study (1994–2003)

Introduction. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been used over many decades for treatment of inflammation and pain. Due to prostaglandin inhibition this drugs cause clinically significant gastrointestinal adverse effects, manifested as ulcers, hemorrhages and perforation. Aims and Methods. To evaluate the problem of patients taking NSAIDs who developed upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in a prospective study.Included were patients who were admitted to our institution between 1 January 1994 and 30 April 2003. Emergency endoscopy was performed in all patients. Results. 6024 patients were investiga…