Improved radiographic detection of multiple gastric ulcers.

In more than 1,500 double contrast upper gastrointestinal examinations performed January through November 1974, 26 cases of multiple gastric ulcers were diagnosed. This represents 18.6% of the 140 patients who had a demonstrable gastric lesion, and 23.4% of the 111 patients who had either a single gastric ulcer or scar. This technique was developed in a country where gastric carcinoma is common, but in the United States its greatest usefulness will probably be in the detection of subtle mucosal defects such as multiple gastric ulcers, linear ulcers, and erosions. The sensitivity of the routine pharmacologically aided double contrast upper gastrointestinal examination is confirmed by the high incidence of multiple gastric ulcers found.