Upper gastrointestinal bleeding: patient presentation, risk stratification, and early management

Coffee ground emesis and early endoscopy: Is timing actually relevant?

OBJECTIVE

Coffee ground vomiting is a classical symptom of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. However, the clinical usefulness is limited, due to the low positive predictive value. Our goal is to determine if whether an urgent endoscopy does modify our therapeutic management with a real impact on survival.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

It is a retrospective, observational and descriptive study. We selected all patients that underwent a gastroscopy in our center for coffee ground vomiting over the last 4 years (2017-2021). Two groups were established: urgent endoscopy (first 24h) and scheduled (over 24h). Then we studied differences between both groups regarding survival, ICU admission, hospitalization days and rebleeding.

RESULTS

Three hundred and fourteen patients were identified, from which 276 were included, with 176 belonging to the urgency group and 109 to the scheduled group. There were no differences in the ICU admission, hospitalization days, survival or rebleeding after 30 days. There were no differences either in the number of potentially bleeding lesions or the need of endoscopic therapeutic.

CONCLUSIONS

Coffee ground vomiting, without any other data supporting upper gastrointestinal bleeding, does not represent a reliable indicator. Performing urgent endoscopy is not beneficial in terms of morbimortality. Therefore, a more conservative strategy would allow to differ endoscopy, decreasing risks and reducing costs, without affecting the prognosis.

Use of topical mineral powder as monotherapy for treatment of active peptic ulcer bleeding

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Hemospray (Cook Medical, Winston-Salem, NC, USA), a hemostatic powder, as monotherapy for active peptic ulcer bleeding.

METHODS

In this prospective, multicenter, single-arm study, patients with Forrest Ia or Ib peptic ulcers underwent endoscopic application of Hemospray as treatment of first intent. Effectiveness endpoints were successful hemostasis at the end of the index endoscopy, recurrent bleeding within 72 hours and from 72 hours to 30 days, adverse events requiring reintervention or resulting in morbidity or mortality, and 30-day mortality.

RESULTS

Hemospray was successfully administered in 98.5% of patients (66/67). Hemostasis was achieved at the index endoscopy in 90.9% of patients (60/66) with Hemospray alone and in an additional 4 patients treated with additional modalities, yielding an overall hemostasis rate of 97.0% (64/66). Rebleeding occurred in 13.3% of patients (8/60), 5 within 72 hours and 3 between 72 hours and 30 days. Two cases of perforation and 2 patient deaths occurred during the study, but none of these cases or any other adverse events were attributed to the use of Hemospray. The rate of early rebleeding was significantly higher in patients with Forrest Ia ulcers compared with patients with Forrest Ib ulcers. Higher rates of early bleeding in patients with Forrest Ia ulcers is consistent with results from studies where Hemospray was used as rescue after failure of conventional methods.

CONCLUSIONS

Hemospray is an effective initial treatment for patients with active peptic ulcer bleeding, but care should be taken to monitor for recurrent bleeding. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT01306864.).

Does timing of endoscopy affect outcomes in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The timing of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for the management of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) remains controversial. Early EGD (E-EGD) (within 24 h of presentation) has been compared to late EGD (L-EGD) (after 24 h) in numerous studies with conflicting results. The previous systematic review included three randomized controlled trials (RCTs); however, the cutoff time for performing EGD was arbitrary. We performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the studies comparing the outcomes of E-EGD and L-EGD group.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science was undertaken to include both RCTs and cohort studies. Primary outcomes including overall mortality and secondary outcomes (recurrent bleeding, need for transfusion, and length of stay) were compared. Risk ratios and standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.

RESULTS

A total of 13 observational studies (with over 1.8 million patients) were included in the final analysis. No significant difference in overall mortality (risk ratio: 0.97; CI, 0.74-1.27), recurrent bleeding (risk ratio: 1.12; CI, 0.62-2.00), and length of stay (SMD: -0.07, CI, -0.31 to 0.18) was observed for E-EGD group compared to L-EGD group. The possibility of endoscopic intervention was higher in E-EGD group (risk ratio: 1.70, CI, 1.28-2.27). Consistent results were obtained for subgroup analysis of studies with 100% nonvariceal bleed (NVB) patient (risk ratio: 1.12; CI, 0.84-1.50).

CONCLUSION

Given the outcomes and limitations, our meta-analysis did not demonstrate clear benefit of performing EGD within 24 h of presentation for UGIB (particularly NVB).

Blind intubation through Laryngeal Mask Airway in a cannot intubate-difficult to ventilate patient with massive hematemesis

Massive hematemesis could be challenging situation requiring emergency airway control and urgent surgical treatment. We report a case of difficult airway management with blind intubation through Laryngeal Mask Airway in a 56-year-old patient with massive hematemesis. After failed endoscopic attempts to stop bleeding, worsening of hemodynamics called for emergency intubation and surgery. After failed intubation attempts and face-mask ventilation worsening, a classic LMA was used for rescue ventilation and decision was made to intubate through LMA. The airway exchange was aided by a nasogastric tube (NGT) through LMA, confirmed with capnography and surgery was started successfully and uneventfully. Unexpected difficult airway can be extremely challenging situation, especially in emergency settings with no possibility to delay surgery. In those cases, literature suggests different intubating techniques through LMA. Blind intubation through LMA aided by NGT showed to be a suitable option in resources-limited settings, where advanced supraglottic devices and/or optical devices are not available.

External validation of Liaoning score for predicting esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis: a Chinese multicenter cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Our previous study developed Liaoning score as a non-invasive approach for predicting esophageal varices (EVs) in liver cirrhosis. This nationwide multicenter cross-sectional study aimed to externally validate the diagnostic accuracy of Liaoning score and further evaluate its performance for predicting high-risk EVs.

METHODS

Cirrhotic patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) without history of endoscopic variceal therapy who underwent endoscopic examinations at their admissions were included. Liaoning score and several non-invasive liver fibrosis scores, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI), AST to alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), fibrosis 4 index (FIB-4), King, and Lok scores, were evaluated. Area under curves (AUCs), cut-off value, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated.

RESULTS

Overall, 612 patients were included. The prevalence of EVs and high-risk EVs was 96.2% and 95.6%, respectively. In overall patients, the AUCs of Liaoning score for predicting EVs and high-risk EVs were higher than non-invasive liver fibrosis scores (0.737 versus 0.626-0.721; 0.734 versus 0.611-0.719). The cut-off value of Liaoning score for high-risk EVs was 0.477 with a sensitivity of 81.96% and a specificity of 65.22%. In patients with hematemesis, Liaoning score could significantly predict EVs and high-risk EVs (AUCs =0.708 and 0.702, respectively), but not non-invasive liver fibrosis scores. The cut-off value of Liaoning score for high-risk EVs was 0.437 with a sensitivity of 83.16% and a specificity of 60%.

CONCLUSIONS

Liaoning score should be a non-invasive alternative for predicting EVs and high-risk EVs in cirrhotic patients with acute GIB.

Effect of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding manifestations at admission on the in-hospital outcomes of liver cirrhosis: hematemesis versus melena without hematemesis

OBJECTIVES

Patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB) often manifest as hematemesis and melena. Theoretically, hematemesis will carry worse outcomes of AUGIB. However, there is little real-world evidence. We aimed to compare the outcomes of hematemesis versus no hematemesis as a clinical manifestation of AUGIB at admission in cirrhotic patients.

METHODS

All cirrhotic patients with AUGIB who were consecutively admitted to our hospital from January 2010 to June 2014 were considered in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into hematemesis with or without melena and melena alone without hematemesis at admission. A 1:1 propensity score matching analysis was performed. Subgroup analyses were performed based on systemic hemodynamics (stable and unstable) and Child-Pugh class (A and B+C). Sensitivity analyses were conducted in patients with moderate and severe esophageal varices confirmed on endoscopy. Primary outcomes included five-day rebleeding and in-hospital death.

RESULTS

Overall, 793 patients were included. Patients with hematemesis at admission had significantly higher five-day rebleeding rate (17.4 versus 10.1%, P = 0.004) and in-hospital mortality (7.9 versus 2.4%, P = 0.001) than those without hematemesis. In the propensity score matching analyses, 358 patients were included with similar Child-Pugh score (P = 0.227) and MELD score (P = 0.881) between the two groups; five-day rebleeding rate (19.0 versus 10.6%, P = 0.026) and in-hospital mortality (8.4 versus 2.8%, P = 0.021) remained significantly higher in patients with hematemesis. In the subgroup and sensitivity analyses, the statistical results were also similar.

CONCLUSIONS

Hematemesis at admission indicates worse outcomes of cirrhotic patients with AUGIB, which is useful for the risk stratification of AUGIB.

The Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleed

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB), defined as intraluminal hemorrhage proximal to the ligament of Treitz, can range from mild and asymptomatic to massive life-threatening hemorrhage. For the purposes of this article, the authors define an acute UGIB to be one that results in new acute symptoms and is, therefore, potentially life-threatening. UGIB requires a systematic approach to evaluation and treatment, similar to the management of a trauma patient. Surgeon involvement in UGIBs remains integral despite the rare need for operative management. Endoscopy is the primary tool for diagnosis and treatment.

Risk factors associated with clinically significant gastrointestinal bleeding in pediatric ED

INTRODUCTION

Gastrointestinal bleeding is a common problem in pediatric emergency department (PED). Some of these patients can lose significant amount of blood which may lead to shock. The aim of this study is to determine the risk factors predicting clinically significant gastrointestinal (GIS) bleeding in patients presenting to PED.

METHODS

This study was performed prospectively from January 1st 2013 to December 31th 2013 in patients with upper or lower GIS bleeding. Clinically significant GIS bleeding was defined as >2g/dL hemoglobin decrease at any time during observation in PED, need for erythrocyte transfusion or need for rapid endoscopic evaluation.

RESULTS

105 patients were enrolled, 81 of which were eligible for the study. Twenty two patients (26,8%) had clinically significant GIS bleeding. These patients have significantly more commonly have upper GI bleeding and symptoms of melena, pallor and tachycardia. Initial laboratory findings revealed lower hemoglobin, RBC and albumin levels with higher WBC and BUN levels. They need significantly more nasogastric tube placement and PPI and H2 blocker treatment. Final diagnosis included more gastritis and peptic ulcers. These patients have less hematochezia, less lower gastrointestinal bleeding and less commonly diagnosed as acute gastroenteritis or Mallory Weiss tear as a final diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatric emergency physicians should be aware of clinical and laboratory parameters of patients with clinically significant GIS bleeding to predict which patients are under risk of life threatening blood loss. Patients who have melena, pallor, tachycardia, anemia and uremia at presentation are more prone to have significant GIS bleeding.

Early esophagogastroduodenoscopy is associated with better Outcomes in upper gastrointestinal bleeding: a nationwide study

Background and study aims We analyzed NIS (National Inpatient Sample) database from 2007 - 2013 to determine if early esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) (24 hours) for upper gastrointestinal bleeding improved the outcomes in terms of mortality, length of stay and costs. Patients and methods Patients were classified as having upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage by querying all diagnostic codes for the ICD-9-CM codes corresponding to upper gastrointestinal bleeding. For these patients, performance of EGD during admission was determined by querying all procedural codes for the ICD-9-CM codes corresponding to EGD; early EGD was defined as having EGD performed within 24 hours of admission and late EGD was defined as having EGD performed after 24 hours of admission. Results A total of 1,789,532 subjects with UGIH were identified. Subjects who had an early EGD were less likely to have hypovolemia, acute renal failure and acute respiratory failure. On multivariable analysis, we found that subjects without EGD were 3 times more likely to die during the admission than those with early EGD. In addition, those with late EGD had 50 % higher odds of dying than those with an early EGD. Also, after adjusting for all factors in the model, hospital stay was on average 3 and 3.7 days longer for subjects with no or late EGD, respectively, then for subjects with early EGD. Conclusion Early EGD (within 24 hours) is associated with lower in-hospital mortality, morbidity, shorter length of stay and lower total hospital costs.

Association between weekend admission and mortality for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage: an observational study and meta-analysis

Higher in-hospital mortality for weekend vs. weekday admissions has been described. We performed a retrospective study and accompanying meta-analysis to examine the association between weekend admission for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage (UGIH) and in-hospital mortality. We identified adult admissions to United States (US) hospitals for acute variceal and nonvariceal UGIH between 1/2010 and 12/2012 from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS). We used multivariable logistic regression to compare the odds of in-hospital mortality (adjusting for hospital- and patient-level factors) for weekend vs. weekday admissions. For our meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE and SCOPUS to identify NIS studies. Using cumulative meta-analysis, we calculated the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of in-hospital mortality for variceal and nonvariceal UGIH weekend admission. From 2010 to 2012, we identified 119,353 admissions for UGIH. After multivariable adjustment, there was no difference in the odds of mortality for weekend admissions with variceal (aOR 1.00; 95 % CI 0.81-1.23) or nonvariceal UGIH (aOR 1.10; 95 % CI 0.99-1.22); although, a decreased use of endoscopy in weekend admissions for all-cause UGIH (adjusted hazard ratio 0.91; 95 % CI 0.89-0.92) was observed. Meta-analysis of five studies (including our own) shows no association between weekend admission and mortality for variceal UGIH (aOR 1.02; 95 % CI 0.86-1.21). Weekend admission for nonvariceal UGIH is associated with an increased odds of mortality (aOR 1.09; 95 % CI 1.04-1.15). Weekend admission for UGIH is not associated with a higher odds of in-hospital mortality in our observational study. However, we observed a 9.0 % increase in nonvariceal UGIH mortality for weekend admissions in our meta-analysis.

[Acute hemorrhage in the upper gastrointestinal tract]

Bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a frequent and complex emergency. There are guidelines for acute medical treatment, established endoscopic treatment as well as surgical and radiological rescue procedures. Nevertheless, the mortality of the upper GI tract bleeding is high, which is due to the fact that affected patients often have serious preexisting illnesses.

Volume of hospital is important for the prognosis of high-risk patients with nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB)

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB) is a potentially life-threatening hospital emergency requiring hemodynamic stabilization and resuscitation. This study is carried out to determine whether hospital volume can influence outcome in patients with NVUGIB.

METHOD

This is a retrospective study with a prospective cohort database (KCT 0000514. cris.nih.go.kr). Eight teaching hospitals were divided into two different groups: high-volume centers (HVC, ≥60 NVUGIB patients/year, four clinics) and low-volume centers (LVC, <60 NVUGIB patients/year, four clinics). Baseline characteristics of patients, risk stratification, and outcomes between hospitals of different volumes were compared. From February 2011 to December 2013, a total of 1584 NVUGIB patients enrolled in eight clinics were retrospectively reviewed. The main outcome measurements consisted of continuous bleeding after treatment, re-bleeding, necessity for surgical/other retreatments, and death within 30 days.

RESULTS

Similar baseline characters for patients were observed in both groups. There was a significant difference in the incidence of poor outcome between the HVC and LVC groups (9.06 vs. 13.69%, P = 0.014). The incidence rate of poor outcome in high-risk patients (Rockall score ≥8) in HVC was lower than that in high-risk patients in LVC (16.07 vs. 26.92%, P = 0.048); however, there was no significant difference in poor outcome in the lower-risk patients in either group (8.72 vs. 10.42%, P = 0.370).

CONCLUSIONS

Significant correlation between hospital volume and outcome in NVUGIB patients was observed. Referral to HVC for the management of high-risk NVUGIB patients should be considered in clinical practice.