What Predicts Peptic Ulcer in Patients Referred for Endoscopy?

Background: Peptic ulcers and other gastric lesions are significant medical conditions. Endoscopy is one useful diagnostic tool, the use of which is dependent on patient selection. Objectives: This study attempts to explore how predictive selected symptoms may be, along with their characteristics in diagnosing peptic ulcers and other gastric lesions in patients undergoing endoscopy. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 152 patients referred to the endoscopic unit at Al-Sadr teaching hospital in Basrah. The patients were carefully interviewed to determine clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. They were subjected to endoscopic examination by a specialist physician, and their results were recorded on the same information sheet. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science, version 20. Results: Given the complexity of the risk factors, clinical manifestations and diagnostic techniques, it seems difficult to predict which patients are likely to have peptic ulcers and which are not. In this study, only self-reported stress and H pylori infection were found to significantly predict the likelihood of peptic ulcers among patients subjected to endoscopic examination. Conclusions: Patients subjected to endoscopy are expected to have a variety of gastric lesions, including peptic ulcer. A substantial proportion of these patients were entirely lesion free. Key words: Prediction, peptic ulcer, Basrah, endoscopy