Body system: Digestive SystemRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.114
Peptic ulcer disease involves sores that develop in your stomach lining or the upper part of your small intestine, often caused by bacteria or certain medications. The VA rates this condition from 0% to 100% based on how severe your symptoms are and how often they flare up. Higher ratings go to veterans with more frequent episodes of pain, vomiting, bleeding, or those who've needed surgery for complications like a perforated ulcer.
Rating levels
- 100% — You recently had surgery because your peptic ulcer (stomach or intestinal ulcer) either broke through the stomach wall creating a hole (perforation) or caused serious bleeding (hemorrhage). This rating applies for the first three months after that emergency surgery while you're recovering from the operation.
- 60% — You must have constant stomach pain along with throwing up from time to time, either vomiting blood or having black, tarry stools that indicate internal bleeding. Additionally, you must have developed anemia (low red blood cell count) from the blood loss that was severe enough to require at least one hospital stay within the past year.
- 40% — You qualify for this rating if you have stomach pain, nausea, or throwing up that lasts at least three days straight, happens four or more times within a year, and requires you to take prescription medicine every day to manage it. These episodes must be significant enough that your doctor has prescribed daily medication to control your peptic ulcer symptoms (sores in your stomach or upper small intestine).
- 20% — You qualify for this rating if you have peptic ulcer episodes that cause stomach pain, nausea, or throwing up, and these episodes last at least three days in a row. These flare-ups happen three times or less within a 12-month period, and you need to take prescribed medication every day to manage your condition.
- 0% — You qualify for this rating if you have a documented history of peptic ulcer disease (sores in your stomach or small intestine lining) that was confirmed through an endoscopy (camera test looking inside your digestive tract) or diagnostic imaging like X-rays or CT scans. Even if you're not currently having symptoms, having this documented medical history in your records is enough to qualify.