Does jaundice increase the frequency of gastroduodenal ulcerations?

We have studied the frequency of gastric and duodenal ulcerations in 200 jaundiced patients (106 males, 94 females, mean age: 69.1) compared with 100 patients without jaundice (65 males, 35 females, mean age: 47.8). The study was designed to determine the effect of sex, age, duration and etiology of jaundice on the frequency of ulcerations. Each patient underwent ERCP, with careful examination of the stomach and duodenum. Ulcerations were seen in 35 patients with jaundice (17.5%) and in 2 patients without jaundice (2%). The difference was significant for duodenal ulcerations (p less than 0.01), but not for gastric ulcerations. There was no significant difference in the influence on the frequency of ulcerations of sex and duration of the jaundice. Ulcerations were more frequent in the case of neoplastic obstruction of the main bile duct (p less than 0.001) than in other etiologies.