Incidence and clinical features of endoscopic ulcers developing after gastrectomy

AIM： To determine the precise incidence and clinica features of endoscopic ulcers following gastrectomy. METHODS： A consecutive series of patients who un- derwent endoscopic examination following gastrectomy between 2005 and 2010 was retrospectively analyzed. A total of 78 patients with endoscopic ulcers and 759 without ulcers following gastrectomy were enrolled. We analyzed differences in patient age, sex, size of the le- sions, method of operation, indications for gastric resec- tion, and infection rates of Helicobacterpylor/（H. pylor/~ between the nonulcer and ulcer groups. RESULTS： The incidence of endoscopic ulcers after gastrectomy was 9.3% and that of marginal ulcers was 8.6%. Ulcers were more common in patients with Billroth l] anastomosis and pre-existing conditions forpeptic ulcer disease （PUD）. Infection rates of H. pylori- did not differ significantly between the two groups. The patients who underwent operations to treat PUD had lower initial levels of hemoglobin and higher rates of hospital admission. CONCLUSION： H. pylori was not an important factor in ulcerogenesis following gastrectomy. For patients who underwent surgery for PUD, clinical course of mar- ginal ulcers was more severe.