Quality of Life in Duodenal Ulcer

Abstract

A Quality of Life questionnaire was administered to 200 duodenal ulcer patients taking daily H₂ antagonists and compared with the responses given by 50 newly diagnosed duodenal ulcer patients. Assessment involved 17 questions which attempted to measure ulcer symptoms, emotional and social function. Age, sex and percentage of smokers were identical in the two groups. Patients on long-term daily H₂ antagonists showed high Quality of Life scores and this is hardly surprising, given the safety, efficacy and economy of H₂ antagonists. By contrast, the low scores demonstrated in newly diagnosed ulcer patients reflect the troublesome nature of ulcer pain and the disruption it causes to social and emotional performance.

Key Words:

• Duodenal ulcer
• H₂ antagonists
• quality of life