Devada Singh-Franco, PharmD
December 26, 2013
Question
How common is upper gastrointestinal injury associated with the newer oral antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants?
Between 1998 and 2005, more than 1.4 million hospitalizations were the result of peptic ulcer disease, with an average age-adjusted hospitalization rate of 63.6 per 100,000 population.[1] Age was a factor: The estimated hospitalization rate was highest for those aged 65 years or older (299.8 per 100,000 population).[1] The rate of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) injury, including gastric and duodenal ulcers, was 33.7 per 100,000 and 24.4 per 100,000 population, respectively.[1]
Several nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic risk factors for UGI injury have been identified. Nonpharmacologic risk factors include age 60 years or older (relative risk [RR], 2.0-5.5), history of peptic ulcer disease (RR, 2.3-3.1) or GI bleeding (RR, 2.60-13.5), and presence of Helicobacter pylori infection (RR, 1.8-2.4).[2]