IN A PREVIOUS paper, we reported a series of patients who, within a few days after trauma or surgery not related to the stomach, developed serious complications of their pre-existing peptic ulcers. Stimulated by these cases, we started a study of the relationship of such trauma and surgery to gastric secretion.
In our first paper,1 we presented data showing that after duodenorrhaphy for acutely perforated duodenal ulcers, gastric secretion attained high concentrations of acids by 8 to 12 hours and maintained acid levels for the following 12 to 24 hours which were comparable to those found in a group of patients with active duodenal ulcers. No preoperative controls were available in these patients presented in the first paper.
In the present paper, we are presenting additional clinical and laboratory data on both ulcer and nonulcer patients with preoperative and postoperative control studies.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Effect of Nonspecific Operations on