A 77-Year-Old Woman Has Been Admitted to Hospital Following Several

Multiple Choice

A 77-year-old woman has been admitted to hospital following several weeks of increasing fatigue. On observation, she is pale, and blood work indicates she has low hemoglobin and red cell counts. Stool tests for occult blood are positive, and following endoscopy, she has been diagnosed with an upper GI bleed that has been shown to originate in her stomach. She admits to regularly exceeding the recommended doses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in an effort to control her rheumatoid arthritis. Which of the following phenomena is most likely responsible for her present health problems?

A) NSAIDs increase the gastric production of gastrin, increasing gastric secretions and lowering stomach pH.
B) Drugs such as NSAIDs increase the H⁺ levels and thus decrease gastric pH, resulting in insult to the stomach lining.
C) NSAIDs, aspirin, and other drugs increase prostaglandin synthesis, resulting in disruption of cellular structures lining the stomach.
D) NSAIDs can disrupt the permeability of the gastric mucosa, causing hydrogen ions to accumulate in the mucosal cells of the lining.