Context

• The Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology was awarded to Warren and Marshall in 2005 for discovering and establishing the role of Campylobacter pyloridis (later renamed Helicobacter pylori) in peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in 1982 [1]. Their discovery changed the perception of PUD from being a primarily acid-driven entity to an infectious disease.

• Antibiotic treatment of H. pylori and the widespread use of potent anti-secretory drugs means PUD is now less prevalent than it was two decades ago. The lifetime prevalence in the general population is currently estimated at 5-10%, with an incidence of 0.1-0.3% a year [2].

• However, complications from PUD remain constant. An ageing population with multiple co-morbidities, and more frequently used ulcerogenic medication may be contributing to this [3].

Learning Bite

1 in 10 people in the UK will develop PUD at some stage in their lives.