Clinical Outcomes of Conservative versus Surgical Treatment in Patients with Complicated Peptic Ulcer Disease

Abstract

Background: Some people with peptic ulcer disease improve with medicines and supportive care, while others need surgery because of severe complications. So, it is important to choose the correct treatment at the right.

Objective: Comparing the outcomes of conservative and surgical treatment in complicated peptic ulcer disease patients.

Methodology: This comparative observational study was carried out at Khyber Medical University Kohat from July 2025 to December 2025. A total of 120 patients were divided into conservative treatment group and surgical treatment group. Demographic details, laboratory findings, type of complication, hospital stay, ICU admission, recurrence, postoperative complications, and mortality were recorded. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 26. Independent sample t-test and chi-square test were applied. A p-value below 0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: The mean age of patients was 46.8 ± 13.5 years. Perforated ulcer was more frequent in the surgical group, while bleeding ulcer was commonly managed conservatively. Mean hospital stay was lower in the conservative group (5.8 ± 2.3 days) compared to the surgical group (9.4 ± 3.6 days). ICU admission was observed in 25.8% surgical patients and 12.1% conservative patients. Recurrence was higher in conservative treatment patients (22.4%), whereas wound infection was more common after surgery (17.7%). Mortality did not show significant difference between both groups.

Conclusion: Conservative treatment was associated with shorter hospital stay and fewer procedure-related complications. Surgical treatment gave better disease control in severe cases, especially perforation. Careful patient selection can improve treatment outcome.