Objective: To determine disease characteristics, check the treatment status and compare outcome with other series.
Design and setting: A retrospective study in a single unit of the Department of Surgery of Khulna Medical College Hospital, south west Bangladesh.
Patients and methods: After diagnosis by clinical and radiological examination, 491 patients were treated during the period July 1992 to November 2002. Two options of treatment were carried out: simple closure and peritoneal lavage in 364 cases, and 127 patients managed by non-surgical methods.
Main outcome measures: mortality and morbidities.
Results: Male:female ratio was 445:46, average age 43 years. Mortality in the surgical group was 6.8% and in the non-surgical group 0.02%.
Conclusion: Perforated peptic ulcer is prevalent even after the wide use of H2 receptor antagonists. Strict case selection for surgical and non-surgical treatment has reduced mortality. These results support the case for non-operative treatment and for conservative surgery.