Patient's assessment of the result of surgery for peptic ulcer.

The assessment of the result of surgery for peptic ulcer is based on doctor-determined criteria. Failure to distinguish one operation as being better than another may be because these criteria do not include the patient's rating of outcome. A questionnaire based on patients' descriptions of the quality of result has been tested in 63 patients. Preliminary figures show that success in the opinion of the patient does not necessarily mean absence of symptoms, while failure is due more to psychosocial than physical factors. A logical step in the planning of controlled trials is preoperative control of admission to the trial.