One fifth of hospitalizations for peptic ulcer-related bleeding are potentially preventable.

Aim: To calculate the proportion of potentially preventable hospitalizations due to peptic ulcer disease (PUD), erosive gastritis (EG) or duodenitis (ED).

Methods: Retrospective cohort study using ICD-10 codes to identify all patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage secondary to endoscopically proven PUD, EG or ED during the period from March 2007 to October 2010 in three major metropolitan hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. Patients were divided into "high risk" (those who would benefit from gastroprotection) and "not high risk" groups as defined by established guidelines.