Introduction:
Upper gastrointestinal system (UGI) bleeding is one of the most important medical problems requiring early diagnosis and treatment in an emergency department (ED). With urgent endoscopy, the diagnosis can be confirmed and conservative, interventional or operative treatment can be initiated. With this approach, bleeding, rebleeding, surgery, mortality and hospital stays have been decreased.
Methods:
A prospective observational study of patients with UGI hemorrhage presenting over a 22-month period was performed and the following three durations recorded: first symptoms to ED presentation (1), first symptoms to endoscopy (2), and ED presentation to endoscopy (3). "elephone follow-up was done one month after presentation.
Results:
During the study period, 110 UGI hemorrhage patients were evaluated (66 male, 44 female; age range 18-97 years). Fifty patients (45%) were treated in a normal ED room, and 55% in resuscitation room. Mean durations (as described above) were 8.9 hours (1), 13.6 hours (2), and 4.6 hours (3). On one-month follow-up, five patients (4.6%) had died.
Discussion:
The mean time from ED presentation to endoscopy was much shorter in our study than that in recent studies (4.6 vs 17.2 hours). The beneficial effects of such a short time from ED presentation to endoscopy need to be further evaluated.
Keywords: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding, endoscopy, emergency department