[Gastric protection against non-steroidal and steroidal antiinflammatory agents in internal medicine specialties: survey on prescription trends among hospital internal medicine physicians (Gardenia Project)].

Hospital physicians employed in 37 departments of medicine in the Regions of Campania and Molise were asked to reply to a questionnaire aimed at evaluating, among their inpatients, the real extent of gastrointestinal side effects caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids, and to point out which gastroprotective drugs they thought were preferable in various clinical situations. In this way, a study group of internists has gathered information about the outlook of internists towards gastroprotection; they have also calculated the pharmacoeconomic burden of these measures.