History of peptic ulcer: from etiology to treatment <b>[Abstract in English]</b>

Abstract

AIMS: To review the main aspects of the historical progression of knowledge about the etiology of peptic ulcer and the clinical and surgical treatment used in the treatment of this disease. SOURCE OF DATA: A search was carried out at PubMed. Selected papers about the history of the peptic ulcer were reviewed. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: For decades, surgeons were taught and believed that peptic ulcer disease was caused by acid. The dictum “no acid, no ulcer” was engrained into every resident of surgery, and all efforts were focused on eliminating acid through operation. With the advent of pharmacological therapy, more ulcers were successfully treated medically and the number of surgical cases decreased. With the discovery of Helicobacter pylori, even more patients were successfully treated medically and the number of surgical cases decreased again, usually only to include refractory cases, hemorrhage or perforation. CONCLUSIONS: Peptic ulcer is a disease recognized since ancient times. The understanding of the gradual evolution of several forms of treatment serves as a warning and teaching of how scientific knowledge evolves, where the final certainties can be changed by innovations and research findings methodologically well designed and executed, and to clarify the difficult path that has been traversed in order to solve the suffering of patients who have this disease.