Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 28, 2025; 31(8): 102959
Published online Feb 28, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i8.102959
Mind the gut: Navigating the complex landscape of gastroprotection in neurosurgical patients
Subeikshanan Venkatesan, Brandon Lucke-Wold
Subeikshanan Venkatesan, Brandon Lucke-Wold, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Flordia, Gainesville, FL 32608, United States
Author contributions: Venkatesan S contributed to the discussion, the writing, editing the manuscript, and review of literature; Lucke-Wold B designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Brandon Lucke-Wold, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida, 1505 SW Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32608, United States. brandon.lucke-wold@neurosurgery.ufl.edu
Received: November 4, 2024
Revised: January 7, 2025
Accepted: January 15, 2025
Published online: February 28, 2025
Processing time: 81 Days and 5.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Neurosurgical patients, particularly those with severe brain injury and elevated intracranial pressure, face heightened risk of stress ulcers and gastrointestinal complications. Effective management requires a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies. While gastric acid suppression is common, its routine use may raise concerns about bacterial colonization and ventilator-associated pneumonia. Recent studies on therapies such as vonoprazan-amoxicillin for Helicobacter pylori as well as combined naso-gastric and naso-intestinal tube application emphasize the need for tailored gastroprotection highlighting critical gaps that warrant further research and individualized approaches in clinical practice.