Current practice of stress ulcer prophylaxis in a surgical patient cohort in a German university hospital

INTRODUCTION: Stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) has been a widespread practice both in intensive care units (ICU) and internal wards at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Clinical data suggests an important overuse of acid suppressive therapy (AST) for this indication. Data on current clinical practice of SUP in surgical patients in a non-ICU setting are spares. In the light of a growing number of reports on serious side effects of AST, this study evaluates the use of AST for SUP in a normal surgical ward in a German university hospital. METHODS: Between January 2016 and June 2016, SUP was analysed retrospectively in 1132 consecutive patients of the Department of Surgery of the Universitätsmedizin Greifswald. RESULTS: The patients managed with and without SUP were similar with respect to demographic data and treatment with anticoagulants, SSRI and glucocorticoids. Patients with SUP were treated more frequently by cyclooxygenase inhibiting drugs (NSAID, COX2-inhibitors), were more frequently treated in the intermediated care unit and had a longer hospital stay. Risk factors for the development of stress ulcers were similarly present in patient groups managed with and without SUP. About 85.7–99.6% of patients were given SUP without an adequate risk for stress ulcer development, depending on the method used for risk assessment. DISCUSSION: Still today, SUP is widely overused in non-ICU surgical patients. Information campaigns on risk factors for stress ulcer development and standard operating procedures for SUP are required to limit potential side effects and increased treatment costs. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00423-021-02325-3.