• T A Miller.
• Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical School, Houston 77030.
• Am. J. Med. 1987 Dec 18; 83 (6A): 8-14.

AbstractDuring the last 15 years, there has been a dramatic decline in the incidence of bleeding from stress-related mucosal damage. This decrease probably relates to an increased understanding of those mechanisms responsible for the pathogenesis of stress-related mucosal damage and the application of this knowledge to prophylaxis and treatment. Stress-related bleeding has become less of a clinical problem, in part, because of the development of improved techniques for the treatment of shock and its accompanying gastric mucosal hypoperfusion. The nearly routine use of prophylactic antacid and/or histamine (H2)-receptor antagonist therapy to adequately buffer intragastric acidity is another factor that has minimized the development of stress-related damage. As continued understanding of the mechanisms responsible for stress damage is obtained and therapy applied appropriately, this disease should become a disorder of only historical interest in years to come.

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