Abstract

Early feeding by means of an intragastric milk drip has been practised in a group of 425 patients admitted to a regional hospital with bleeding peptic ulcers. A low overall mortality of 4·9% was achieved even though more than a quarter of the patients treated were more than 60 years old. The fallacies in comparing mortalities from gastrointestinal bleeding are discussed and the need for adequate blood transfusion, early diagnosis, and medico-surgical collaboration emphasized.