Current Management of Peptic Ulcer Perforations

Perforation is a life-threatening complication of peptic ulcer disease. Smoking and use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are important risk factors for perforation. Diagnosis is made clinically and confirmed by the presence of pneumoperitoneum on radiographs. Nonoperative management is successful in patients identified to have a spontaneously sealed perforation proven by water-soluble contrast gastroduodenogram. Operative management consists of the time-honoured practice of omental patch closure, but now this can be done by laparoscopic methods. The practice of addition of acid-reducing procedures is currently being debated though it continues to be recommended in good-risk patients. Laparoscopic approaches to closure of duodenal perforation are now being applied widely and may become the gold standard in the future especially in patients with <10mm perforation size presenting within the first 24 hours of onset of pain. The role of Helicobacter pylori in duodenal ulcer perforation is controversial and more studies are needed to answer this question though recent indirect evidence suggests that eradicating H pylori may reduce the necessity for adding acid reducing procedures and the associated morbidity. Perforation is a life-threatening complication of peptic ulcer disease. The management of peptic ulcer disease has evolved over the decades, due to advances in operative techniques, bacteriology and pharmacology. While the recognition of the role of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in peptic ulceration has resulted in a paradigm shift in the management of uncomplicated peptic ulcers, debate continues about the appropriate management of perforated duodenal bulb and prepyloric ulcers. A new dimension has been added to this controversy by the advent of laparoscopic techniques for closing the perforation. A medline search of all articles dealing with the management of peptic ulcer perforation published after 1985 was undertaken. The shortlisted articles were analysed and studies which were well designed and had important inferences were selected. Based on these inferences, the controversies surrounding the management of peptic ulcer perforation have been discussed in this