Acute upper gastrointestinal lesions due to ranger training with special reference to acute gastric ulcers

Abstract

Mental and physical stresses, some kinds of drugs and alcohol are well known as the causes of acute gastric ulcerous lesions. But, there have been no sufficient medical studies on the relationship between acute gastric lesion and ranger training that is very stressful. 421 subjects were examined endoscopically after the training from 1978 to 1986. 1. Of the 421 subjects, gastric ulcer: 36 cases (8.5%), duodenal ulcer: 25 cases (5.9%), gastroduodenal ulcer: 5 cases (1.2%), erosivegastritis: 95 cases (22.6%), and erosive duoenitis:19 cases (4.5%) were found. 2. Of 62 lesions of 41 gastric ulcers (5 cases associated with duodenal ulcers), 29 (46.8%) were found at the gastric anglus. 3. Symptoms such as epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, hematemesis and/or melena tended to appear from the 12 th or 13 th day of action training in the cases of ulcerous diseases, at that time the training was thought to be most hardest, so the trainees were most exhausted. It is natural that such strict training causes great physical, mental and phychological stresses to the trainees. 4. 8 of these acute gastric ulcers needed more than 8 weeks to become complete scars and 4 recurred. These cases indicated the possibility of chronic transformation of the acute gastric ulcers. © 1988, Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society. All rights reserved.