Hemorrhagic gastritis. Importance of associated chronic gastritis.

Twenty-five patients with endoscopically demonstrated acute hemorrhagic gastritis were studied to ascertain the presence of associated chronic gastritis. Peroral gastric biopsies demonstrated atrophic gastritis in eight of 15 patients with a prior alcohol intake. This incidence of atrophic gastritis is not unusual for a hospital population. However, in eight patients with a prior aspirin intake, all but one demonstrated atrophic gastritis. This suggests that chronic atrophic gastritis of a mild to moderate degree renders the gastric mucosa susceptible to bleeding from aspirin. This would have implications in diseases associated with atrophic gastritis such as gastric ulcer and gastric cancer.