Diabetes mellitus and peptic ulcer a clinical study of nine cases

Summary

• 1. In a group of 3,525 diabetic patients, peptic ulcer was present in 9 cases, constituting an incidence of 0.25 per cent. Of 130,500 total hospital admissions, 1,952 patients, or 1.49 per cent, had peptic ulcer. Both diabetes mellitus and peptic ulcer were present in 51 cases out of a group of 10,397 diabetic patients collected from reports in the literature.

• 2. Low gastric acidity is found in a large proportion of diabetic patients. To this fact, the infrequency of peptic ulcer in the presence of diabetes may be attributed. In 7 of our cases of peptic ulcer associated with diabetes, gastric acidity was normal in 5 patients, below normal in one, and above normal in another.

• 3. Ulcer symptomatology was atypical in a large proportion of the cases of coexisting diabetes mellitus and peptic ulcer. The diabetic status of these patients was mild and occasioned few symptoms.

• 4. Best therapeutic results were obtained in those cases of peptic ulcer and diabetes mellitus who were placed on a Sippy diet, with the diabetic status being controlled by insulin injections whenever necessary. We are greatly indebted to Dr. Simon Rothenberg for his many helpful suggestions in the preparation of this paper.