ULCER RECURRENCE AMONG FILIPINO PATIENTS - CLINICAL PROFILE AND RISK-FACTORS

Patients with endoscopic diagnosis of gastric and/or duodenal ulcers w ho eventually had endoscopic confirmation of ulcer healing after any a nti-ulcer medication were entered in a 3 year study to determine ulcer recurrence rate, onset of ulcer recurrence and factors associated wit h ulcer recurrence. Patients from two participating centres who are no t on any maintenance treatment had endoscopic examinations at 3, 6 and 12 months after ulcer healing or at any time of symptom recurrence. T here were 144 patients entered into the study. The 1 year recurrence r ate observed among 125 Filipino patients who completed the study was 7 3% wherein 71% occurred within the first six months. This was comparab le with those reported in the world literature. Thirty-three per cent of those with recurrent ulcers were asymptomatic. The difference in th e recurrence rate between gastric and duodenal ulcers was not statisti cally significant. The only risk factors found to be associated with u lcer relapse were history of smoking and alcohol intake. CLO test for Helicobacter pylori done in 45 patients with recurrent ulcers were all positive, suggesting a strong association between H. pylori and ulcer recurrence.