ABSTRACT
While few would doubt that there is a relation between use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and peptic ulcer and its complications, the association was inadequately studied. In the last three years epidemiological investigations, including case control and prospective record linkage studies, have produced a wide range of estimates of the relative risks of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and ulcer perforation associated with use of NSAIDs. Controls were drawn randomly from the records of all subjects who had been admitted to the hospital with a primary diagnosis of complicated peptic ulcer but who had survived and been discharged back to the community. In addition to drug use, information was collected from hospital records on previous history of peptic ulcer and other diseases, diagnoses present on admission to hospital, and new diagnoses made during hospital stay. During the six years of the study, 1003 patients were admitted to the study hospitals with a primary diagnosis of ulcer perforation or hemorrhage.
