Editorial

Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis in the Nonintensive Care Unit Hospitalized Patient: Physician Prescribing Behaviors

Authors: John W. Birk,MD, Maria Soriano, MD

Abstract

Stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) in noncritically ill patients has been a topic of debate for many years. Significant physiologic stress has been shown to cause gastritis and peptic ulcers. In 1998, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) set forth a set of guidelines for SUP. These guidelines were created by reviewing the medical literature for validated evidence of usage. They recommend SUP in patients newly admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with the comorbid conditions of coagulopathy, on mechanical ventilation, or a history of recent ulcer or gastrointestinal (GI) bleed. They also recommended SUP on existing ICU patients with specific criteria. However, adult inpatients that do not meet the evidence-based criteria should not be given SUP.1

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References

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