Aðgerðir vegna sársjúkdóms í maga og skeifugörn

Abstract

The use of drugs for the therapy of peptic ulcers in Iceland is 2-3 times greater than in other Nordic countries. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of this usage on the incidence of elective and acute operations for peptic ulcer. The first H2-blocker was introduced in Iceland in 1976. Data was collected from all the four hospitals in Iceland where those operations were done for the years 1971-1989. The mean number of operations for peptic ulcer was calculated for 5 year periods and for the age groups 20-49, 50-69 and 70 years and older. Elective operations were 786 but the number decreased by 82% from the first to the last period. The acute operations for peptic ulcer were 503, 288 (57%) for perforations, 159 (32%) for hemorrhages and 56 (11%) for other incidences. While the overall incidence for acute operations remained unchanged there was a decrease among the youngest age group and an increase among the oldest age group. There was a decreasing time trend for the male/female ratio, especially for elective operations. Our conclusion is that the introduction of ulcer healing drugs has decreased the use of elective operations for peptic ulcer. The decreased incidence of acute operations among the youngest age group could be the result of treatment with ulcer healing drugs but the increased incidence among the oldest age group is probably due to a combination of more usage of NSAID s and an age cohort effect.