Abstract
Not all orthopaedic patients will develop peptic ulcer disease (PUD). However, the stresses, anxiety, and altered lifestyle that often accompany orthopaedic injury, surgery, or treatment increase the risk of developing or exacerbating PUD. Health care professionals who are knowledgeable about PUD and alert to the possibility that their orthopaedic patients may develop PUD or experience an increase in PUD pain are a major first-line defense against this painful complication. This article briefly reviews the epidemiology and pathophysiology of peptic ulcer disease. A description of some of the known causes of PUD will help identify those factors that could relate to a wide variety of orthopaedic patients. Examples of a variety of pharmacologic treatment approaches for PUD are also explored, with cautions and drug/drug interactions identified.
Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is an inflammatory disease that is characterized by the formation of sores or lesions that form in the lining of the stomach or duodenum. These sores may be the result of (1) an imbalance between hydrochloric acid and pepsin and/or (2) destruction or weakening of the mucosal barrier that then fails to resist the action of these agents (Porth, 1997). Ulcers that form in the stomach are called gastric or stomach ulcers (GU) and those in the duodenum are called duodenal ulcers (DU). In general, however, both GU and DU are referred to collectively as peptic ulcers.